During a livestream hangout in a bid to save the popular “Daredevil” series, actor Peter Shinkoda called out Marvel Television chief Jeph Loeb for alleged anti-Asian statements.
Cutting Asian storylines: Shinkoda, who played Nobu in Netflix’s “Daredevil,” shared that Loeb wanted to cut storylines for Asian characters in the show so he made anti-Asian remarks to justify his decision.
- Among the Asian characters in the show were his character and Madame Gao, played by Wai Ching Ho.
- Speaking at the #SaveDaredevilCon hangout alongside fellow actors Geoffrey Cantor (Ellison) and Tommy Walker (Francis) on Sunday, Shinkoda discussed how the executive producer told writers to stop storylines with Asian characters.
- “I’m not into… really protecting, you know, certain things anymore. But Jeph Loeb told the writers room not to write for Nobu and Gao and this was reiterated many times by many of the writers and showrunners,” Shinkoda said.
- According to Shinkoda, Loeb claimed that “‘Nobody cares about Chinese people and Asian people. There were three previous Marvel movies, a trilogy called Blade that was made where Wesley Snipes killed 200 Asians each movie. Nobody gives a sh*t so don’t write about Nobu and Gao.’”
- Shinkoda said Loeb’s comments forced the writers to “put their storyline down and drop it.”
- “The writers told me that they regretted it,” Shinkoda continued. “They were reluctant to do it, they were so stoked about including that in the storyline but they were prevented, so I had to concoct this other storyline and rock that material that I was given …”
- In Daredevil’s portrayal of The Hand, Nobu and Madame Gao had very little exposure, which eventually affected the story as Daredevil crossed over to “The Defenders” miniseries.
#WaiChingHo aka #MadameGao and I, aka #Nobu of #Daredevil weren’t at the season 2 premiere…because we weren’t invited. Wai was insulted…and that pissed me off A LOT. We found out about the event as it live-streamed. “They” were sorry we were “overlooked”. #HellsKitchen pic.twitter.com/S6i8FSHiBt
— Peter Shinkoda (@PeterShinkoda) July 26, 2020
If “Daredevil” was made today: During the virtual panel, Cantor and Shinkoda also discussed how inclusion and diversity have changed in Hollywood and would have impacted “Daredevil” itself if it was made today.
- “Heck, I think that would have permeated into Iron Fist … ” Walker added.
- According to Walker, “Daredevil” Season 2 showrunner Doug Petrie even pitched a multiracial version of Danny Rand for “Iron First” but was rejected by the studio.
- “I think I can say this much safely that man came up with some brilliant pitches for Iron Fist early on before Iron Fist was well into production…but they were along those lines, very very thoughtful, very progressive for the time,” Walker said.
The outpouring of support: Many expressed support for Shinkoda on social media, with others pointing out how Loeb affected other television shows that led to their failure.
Jeph Loeb was the reason
1) Inhumans TV show flopped
2) Iron Fist flopped
3) Defenders flopped
4) Marvel movies and Marvel TV have been at odds instead of connected for yearsThis is why we are sick of old white men having all the power over representative media https://t.co/cIYjcjXEJv
— Drake Bell Fan Page (@dicturepay) July 27, 2020
Our industry will not advance unless we are willing to speak the names of those preventing it from doing so!
Thank you for standing up and speaking out @PeterShinkoda
I stand with you. https://t.co/sw7yMvp4o0
— Ray Fisher (@ray8fisher) July 26, 2020
When you make decisions that are solely based on the status quo, without recognizing the changing culture around you, you deny the reality that your audiences are living every day.
Power to @PeterShinkoda for speaking his truth.
Shame on you, Jeph Loeb.
You’re very local. https://t.co/xecODM4vBl— William Yu (@its_willyu) July 26, 2020
During the Save Daredevil Panel, actor Peter Shinkoda revealed the reason that Nobu’s storyline was dropped. Shinkoda said Jeph Loeb told the writers: “Nobody cares about Asian people.” pic.twitter.com/bZbP1vmmSA
(Source: https://t.co/MaC8ORCzef)
— Geeks of Color #BlackLivesMatter (@GeeksOfColor) July 26, 2020
I had the pleasure of collaborating with actress Wai Ching Ho on A Father’s Son. She’s so professional, patient, and endearing to have on set and as a person. To undervalue her and @PeterShinkoda talent b/c they’re Asian is just unethical.
Remember ppl #RepresentationMatters pic.twitter.com/F30CHbBoYF— Patrick Chen (@ChenXiHao) July 27, 2020
I’m feeling the support today. More people care than I dreamed ever would. This makes me happy!!!!! I appreciate you. 🙏😌
— Peter Shinkoda (@PeterShinkoda) July 27, 2020
Feature Image (left) via Gage Skidmore (CC BY-SA 2.0), (right) Getty
