While most of the queer universe is already popping the Bolly in anticipation of upcoming big-screen version of Absolutely Fabulous, not everyone is so excited. The film has come under fire for allegedly using “yellowface” and casting a white actor to play the role of a Japanese person, and one of those leading the charge is entertainer Margaret Cho.
The character in question, Huki Muki, is a Japanese fashion designed portrayed by Janette Tough, who is Caucasian.
Cho ranted on Twitter about the casting of the character:
“Have some respect. Hire Asian actors 4 Asian roles. I’m not going to name the production but I’m DISGUSTED!
How about we take this to the next level?
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“#YELLOWFACE is racism. Sorry. It’s unacceptable. Not now. I was thrilled about #abfabmovie but now I just can’t be. I’m very disappointed.”
“It’s hard enough to get into film and TV as a person of color – and when roles written for us are played by white actors – it’s an outrage.”
Of course, having not seen the film, it’s entirely likely — if not a forgone conclusion — that Huki Muki’s actual race will be a big reveal or plot twist, and the character herself will be called out for being a fraud and phony.
We’ll find out when the film hits theaters on July 1.
H/t: LGBTQ Nation
Jason Starr- Nolan
What’s the biggie? It’s not like all actors cast in gay roles are actually gay! Calm the farm love!
Scott Lawrence
Um what I love about abfab is that is it completely politically incorrect so chillax!
moldisdelicious
@Jason Starr- Nolan: spoken from a perspective of someone suffering from white privilege.
JerseyMike
Speak Margaret..?
JerseyMike
@moldisdelicious: !!!!!!
Giancarlo85
This is apparent all over this country and gay white males on here are fine with it. Of course. They are privileged.
Adrian Ornelas
Incoming barrage of white people saying it doesn’t matter. I will say that I love abfab though but this does disappoint me.
Billy Butler
Chill Margaret cho, it’s abfab.
Georgie Land
It’s called ‘comedy’, you ‘politically correct’ biatch! Get over it! 😉
Eddie Dillingham
Who cares. I can’t wait to see it
Daniel Salmeron
My question would be who did they audition for the movie and did they make the best choice possible? For some characters in a show (the slaves in Roots for example), the race is necessary for the plot. Not knowing AbFab not sure if it’s a necessity
Jason Sanders
Who cares?
Victor Barry
I love it when people complain about a movie they haven’t even seen. I like Margaret, but she needs to get out of the house more.
throwslikeagirl
AbFab does something that isn’t PC? I’m shocked, I tell you, shocked. Margaret Cho is going for a knee-jerk reaction without complete evidence, so she can get a soundbite in the press? I’m equally shocked. Next thing you know, we’ll find out some straight actor’s playing gay and/or some gay actor’s playing straight.
Anyway, I betcha it has a funny plot point, as has already been discussed. I LOVE AND APPLAUD AbFab’s ongoing un-PC-ness. Patsy and Eddy are the original two broads who couldn’t give two ****s, and hooray for them.
Masc Pride
So outrage before a film is even released seems to be a new trend (Stonewall, Zoolander, Star Wars). Given the tone of the series, the casting totally seems like it could be part of a punchline. Cho has always been a hypersensitive comedienne, which is probably part of why her stand-up is so boring.
moldisdelicious
@Adrian Ornelas: @Giancarlo85:
Yep. That’s why whenever I see those same guys expecting us nonwhites and the world for that matter to rally for their cause as in the gay white men that matter to them including themselves, I fall back. Understandably it’s hard to take them seriously because they think it’s all about them. They make it all about them.
JerseyMike
@moldisdelicious: With you..
William Noffsinger
Remember when Margaret Cho was a comedian?
Captain Obvious
Of course so many white guys are totally ok with it and don’t care at all. The privilege is real.
orjeffy
sorry, but wtf does “popping the Bolly” mean?
Tobi
Darlings, if you want to talk bollocks about white privilege, you’d better start off by downing a bottle of Stolly. Hopefully you’ll be unconscious before anyone thinks to take you seriously.
Rosalynn D'Angela
captainburrito
Might be better to see the movie first before judging, it might be a plot twist as mentioned in the article. It might not but best to confirm it first.
Bauhaus
Ms. Yunioshi?
Kangol
With Margaret Cho on this. Given how few roles there are and continue to be for Asians and Asian Americans, who are a growing share not only of the US but British population, ABFAB does not need to engage in yellowface!
Stop being lazy-r@cist, juust hire a talented Asian-British actor to play Huki Muki and be f*cking done with it!
Brian
Margaret Cho would be a lot more credible if she didn’t have those ghastly tattoos on her body. She looks awful.
Doug
Totally in agreement with MC. This has been an issue for decades among Asian American performers.
Franklin
This has nothing to do with political correctness. If the character is supposed to be an Asian person, then just hire an Asian person to play him. How hard is that? There are more than enough Asian actors looking for work for the movie industry to be this lazy in casting.
DistingueTraces
Nothing about the character being called “Huki Muki”?
Green4Clover
If it was a white actor playing a black character, we would be outrage. As an asian person I find this offensive.
Tobi
“Lets just have a stupidity tax! Just tax the stupid people!”
Huki Muki isn’t Japanese, just pretending to be, that’s the point. *sigh*
Matt Achine
@Brian: But judging her by criteria completely irrelevant to the issue is sensible. Trolling is so over, you know.
SonOfKings
This falls under the umbrella of “it shouldn’t matter, but it does.” If Asian actors were routinely given the opportunity to play roles originally conceived as White, it would be justifiable to cast White actors as Asian characters. But since we know that is not the case, I think it makes better sense to cast Asian actors in Asian roles. And do we really want to see a White actor made up to look Asian?
martinbakman
Sweeties!
BigWill
Huki is a Japanese fashion!
heavylifter
@moldisdelicious:
Yawn, another Progressive peddling White Guilt.
Ummmm Yeah
Cho found something to bitch about. She is so happy now.
Ummmm Yeah
@William Noffsinger: No. I’m only familiar with her role as a constant nag.
alphacentauri
Cho is hilarious at times; but as far as social issues go she makes a huge issue out of nothing.
I have not seen the movie and I watched the first season of the TV show. If the actor was white you just know someone would complain saying how they should have had a black or asian actress playing her instead.
enfilmigult
I dunno, this show previously had a character who claimed to be Japanese despite being plainly Caucasian with an English accent, and that was the joke. I’d be surprised if this one was literally going to be an Asian person played by a white actor in yellowface.
4321
Queerty commenteras (well, a large minority): a cesspool of racism. Some of you anti Asian faggots would cry racism if the same thing happened to Blacks or Hispanics (especially the ones who call MC a bitch and say being unPC is great). But because it involves an Asian person, they get a free pass. Nothing wrong w/Blacks or Hispanics, just saying that racism aainst them is taken more seriously. The amount of anti Asian vitriol on Queerty is astounding. 14 88 -some of you should know what that means since that’s the mantra you live by
4321
@Georgie Land: 14 88
randeman
@orjeffy: “Bolly” refers to Bollinger champagne. Patsy and Edina drink it by the gallon.
inbama
@enfilmigult:
And from what I’ve read, she’s a 67 year old woman playing a man.
I have a feeling Ms. Cho think “The Mikado” is about actual Japanese people, too.
SAasianboi
I agree with both sides of the debate, on the one hand an opportunity to make money on a job would be good for Asians and not for somebody white. in south Africa where I live they had a production many years ago about romeo and Juliet with an all black cast, still even in traditional Zulu attire. many white people complained but no one in south Africa cares about white opinion anymore. it is only in Europe and the US where white people feel safe enough not to care.
on the other hand perhaps ABfab is trying to draw attention to something indirectly, by hiring a white person to play a stereotype, they are actually mocking the ignorance of whites when it comes to their knowledge of ethnic cultures and backgrounds? certainly in the west white people are allowed to have a unique individual identity, but Asians and blacks are just stereotypes.