Chloe Bennet, the star of Marvelâs TV show âAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,â has no time for people who question her legitimacy as an Asian-American woman.
The actress, who is half Chinese and half white, snapped back at people on social media who criticized Bennet for changing her original surname, Wang.
âChanging my last name doesnât change the fact that my BLOOD is half Chinese, that I lived in china, speak mandarin, or that I was culturally raised both American and Chinese,â Bennet wrote in a since-deleted comment on Instagram. âIt means I had to pay my rent, and hollywood is racist and wouldnât cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable.â
âIâm doing everything I can, with the platform I have, to make sure no one has to change their name again, just so they can get work,â she added. âSo kindly love, fuck off.â
The conversation surrounding Bennetâs surname name came to light after the actress shared a screenshot of fellow actor Ed Skreinâs announcement that he was turning down a role offered to him because he felt it would be whitewashing a character of mixed Asian heritage.
Though she scrubbed her comment from the Instagram post, it continued to live on as a viral screenshot shared by her supporters. It even caught the attention of another accomplished Asian-American actor: Ken Jeong.
Bennet, whose father is Chinese and mother is white, didnât always use a stage name. She once pursued a singing career in China using her real name, Chloe Wang.
But as a Chinese-American in Hollywood who could be perceived as âwhite-passingâ â as Twitter has pointed out â it makes sense that Bennet would feel compelled to market herself as a white actress in Hollywood. The film and media industries have historically treated Asian talent unfairly, whether it be casting Asian actors in stereotypical or racially insensitive roles, whitewashing Asian characters by using white actors, paying them less than their white colleagues or not casting them at all.
For example, a 2016 study of diversity in the film industry showed that there are extremely few Hollywood movies with Asian characters, roles and storylines. When Asian characters or themes are included in a film or show, storylines are often tweaked to fit a white actor (see: Scarlett Johansson in âGhost in the Shell,â Tilda Swinton in âDoctor Strangeâ). Oftentimes, storylines will even include many Asian themes, but focus on a white character (see: Finn Jones in âIron Fistâ).
Even Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park â two of the most prominent actors in the hit show âHawaii Five-0â â reportedly left the crime show this year because of pay discrimination.
Not everyone agrees with Bennetâs choice to use a âwhite-soundingâ surname, which also happens to be her Chinese fatherâs first name, claiming that Bennet is taking advantage of her privilege as a woman who can pass as a white actress. Some people argued that Bennet should fight against the systematic oppression of minorities in Hollywood, instead of conforming her name to fit within the dominant cultureâs standards.
Many people, however, support Bennetâs decision to use her fame and speak out against racism in Hollywood.
This summer the actress founded a nonprofit organization aimed at boosting representation in all industries for those in the Asian-American, Pacific Islander communities. Itâs called Represent Us Now.
Speaking with The Daily Beast in 2016, Bennet said that she was proud to be half-Chinese and she wanted her fans to know she only changed her name so she could be seen in the industry more â not to hide the Chinese part of her.
âOh, the first audition I went on after I changed my name, I got booked,â Bennet told The Daily Beast. âSo thatâs a pretty clear little snippet of how Hollywood works.â
She later added, âI want to be clear because some of my Asian-American fans seem to think I did that [name change] because I didnât want to be known as Chinese, but itâs so the opposite.â
âI just wanted to be known as me and let my personality define who I was, rather than my ethnicity.â