#BoycottMulan Grows After Film’s Star Shows Support for Hong Kong Police
While many Disney fans are excited for the upcoming Disney live-action Mulan reboot, there's a growing number who are pushing to protest the movie altogether.
The film's star, Liu Yifei, recently shared her support for the Hong Kong police on Weibo, China's social media platform, where she wrote (in Chinese), "I support the Hong Kong police. You may beat me up now."
"What a shame for Hong Kong," she added in English, along with a heart and arm flex emoji.
Yifei quoted Fu Guhao, a journalist at The Global Times (a newspaper run by the Chinese government), who was "roughed up by a group of protesters" during a recent mass sit-in at Hong Kong's international airport.
Since March, Hong Kong natives have been protesting the Chinese government regarding an extradition law that's has been suspended. The pro-democracy protests have since grown, but also resulted in major violent clashes between protestors and police.
The China-born actress's comments aren't sitting well with many people who support the Hong Kong protestors. Since her statement was circulated, #BoycottMulan began trending on Twitter, with more than 58,000 tweets and counting.
"#BoycottMulan because while these people in Hong Kong are fighting for their rights while being brutalized by their own police, Liu Yifei is sitting her happy a-- down in the US enjoying the rights those people don’t have while supporting the police brutality from afar,” one person posted on social media.
Another tweeted, "Enjoying freedom and democracy in the US while suppressing Hong Kong people who are fighting for freedom and democracy. #BoycottMulan."
The comments continued on her IG account. Some commended her and said she's showing support for her native China while others condemned her for appearing to support the police brutality currently taking place in Hong Kong.
Yifei isn't the only one showing her support for China amidst the protests. Lay Zhang Yixing, who's part of K-pop group EXO and who was born in China, has also been vocal about his support for the Hong Kong police.