The Boycott Mulan problem is only getting worse for Disney in China after the star of Mulan, Yifei Liu, spoke out in support of Hong Kong’s Police.
Yifei Liu the star of Disney’s upcoming Mulan adaptation, posted to her 65 million followers on Weibo: “I support Hong Kong’s police, you can beat me up now”, while also including the hashtag: “IAlsoSupportTheHongKongPolice”. Since there are currently widespread reports of Police brutality against pro-democracy protestors, Yifei Liu’s statement was instantly met with controversy. Politics aside for a moment, many fans pointed out that the statement seemed hypocritical of Liu given that Mulan is a young woman fighting against wrongdoing. This directly led to the #BoycottMulan trend in response to Disney’s silence on the issue.
And with protesters planning a demonstration at Disney Hong Kong within the coming days, time is running out for the company to make some kind of statement on where it stands. Since Mulan has a March 2020 release, interviews, and press junkets could quite easily be dominated by the democratic topic, rather than the film itself. If protestors do end up in the Disney park in response to Yifei Liu’s comments on social media, Disney will be forced to pick sides sooner rather than later. Stanley Rosen, a professor at USC and Chinese entertainment specialist, dug deeper into the issue when speaking to The Hollywood Reporter:
“Disney can’t support the protesters because their business in China is too important, but they obviously can’t be seen as pandering too much to China either, because that could backfire as well, depending on how the situation in Hong Kong unfolds.”
What are your thoughts on boycotting Disney’s Mulan? Let us know in the comments below.
When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Army to defend the country from Northern invaders, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps in to take the place of her ailing father. Masquerading as a man, Hua Jun, she is tested every step of the way and must harness her inner-strength and embrace her true potential. It is an epic journey that will transform her into an honored warrior and earn her the respect of a grateful nation…and a proud father.
Directed by Niki Caro from a screenplay by Rick Jaffa & Amanda Silver and Elizabeth Martin & Lauren Hynek, Disney’s Mulan stars Yifei Liu as Mulan; Donnie Yen as Commander Tung; Jason Scott Lee as Böri Khan; Yoson An as Cheng Honghui; with Gong Li as Xianniang and Jet Li as the Emperor.
Disney’s Mulan will be released in theaters on March 27, 2020.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter