Simu Liu talks about cultural appropriation over boba tea 🧋
Wyt people speaking about making an Asian thing better in front of an Asian is very ick.
Simu Liu had very valid points about this brand and their cultural appropriation of bubble tea. And pls, popping boba's been in the market back in like 2017 or something. pic.twitter.com/ajRqdIPQYu
- Gillian Hero (@lilyoftheveil17) October 11, 2024
The actor appeared as a guest judge on the latest episode of dragon’s den, a Canadian show similar to shark tank where entrepreneurs look for investors to their projects; on the show, founders of Bobba, a new take on boba tea, presented the pitch to their product, saying the original boba tea had questionable ingredients and theirs is only made with 3 natural ones.
Liu also called out their statement on making the beverage “better” as the original is a staple on Asian food and snacks, finally pondering on wether the founders have any respect to the origins of their product and to not fall into appropriation of Asian cultures. The rest of the judges, however, dismissed his remarks, feeling tense and awkward about them.
Boba tea is a tea-based drink originated in Taiwan, brought to the United States and other countries with large East Asian diaspora population in the 90’s. In recent years the beverage has bubbled up (🤭) in popularity, with it even becoming a cultural identity for Asians outside their countries of origin. In 2020, the date April 30 was officially declared as National Bubble Tea Day in Taiwan.
Source 1