“The Boys” and “Suicide Squad” star Karen Fukuhara has said she was attacked in what she describes as a “hate crime.”
Fukuhara, 30, disclosed on her Instagram page yesterday, March 16, that she had been “struck in the head” earlier that same day by a stranger while walking to a cafe to get coffee.
“It came out of nowhere,” wrote Fukuhara. “[The attacker and I] made no eye contact before, I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary. It came to my surprise and my hat flew off.”
Fukuhara went on to say that while she had previous experience with “racial slurs and hurtful actions,” it was the first time she was “harmed physically.”
After she was hit, Fukuhara said she was forced to walk away after the perpetrator began approaching her again, partly because she did not want to take the chance of him drawing a concealed weapon on her.
“I thought about confronting him at first but he started coming towards me and I didn’t think it was worth the risk. After a few seconds of staring at each other, and him yelling at me, he eventually walked away.”
Fukuhara referred to her attack as a “hate [crime]” due to the random nature of the incident. She also added that many of her own friends have “no idea” that these incidents are happening “to everyday, regular people.”
“The shock of this experience has me thinking about taking self defense classes,” wrote Fukuhara, who is already a martial arts champion and well rehearsed in Karate and sword fighting.
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Fukuhara starred as samurai warrior Katana in “Suicide Squad” in 2016 and is currently cast as Kimiko Miyashiro in Amazon Prime Video’s “The Boys.”
Several “The Boys” castmates expressed their support under her Instagram post.
“F this person!! Hope you’re ok this is awful,” posted Chace Crawford, along with a heart emoji. Crawford plays “The Boys” main antagonist The Deep.
“Karen thank you for sharing your experience,” stated Jack Quaid, who is Hughie Campbell in the show. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. Love you. Here if you need anything.”
Notable Asian American actors such as Daniel Dae Kim, Olivia Munn, Jamie Chung and Arden Cho, also voiced their sympathies.
“I am so sorry this happened to you and glad you are ok. I know this is going to take some time to heal,” Chung wrote in a comment that has garnered almost 500 likes.
Fukuhara’s attack is the latest in a series of attacks against Asian American women and comes just a few days after a 67-year-old Asian American woman in Yonkers, New York, was punched over 125 times in the face by a man who called her an “Asian b*tch.”
Featured Image via Karen Fukuhara (left), Flashback FM (right)
