‘Now we are enemies’: Simu Liu reacts to Toshiba using his stock photo for printer instruction booklet
By Ryan General
March 15, 2022
Simu Liu’s $100 stock photo gigs may be long behind him, but reminders of his modeling past still pop up from time to time.
In a recent tweet, the “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” star shared a gem from his pre-Marvel era: his smiling face on an instruction booklet for a printer from Japanese electronics company Toshiba.
“Toshiba, whatever you paid for this photo, I guarantee you I would have endorsed you for less. Now we are enemies,” Liu tweeted in jest.
Based on the printer model (Toshiba e-STUDIO 4508A), the booklet likely came out in 2015, just around the time when the Chinese Canadian star was starting to get recognized for his role in the hit TV show “Kim’s Convenience.”
The 32-year-old actor has previously expressed regret in posing for a $100 stock photo gig in 2014 which resulted in him becoming the face for an assortment of businesses and products.
“I did one stock photoshoot for 100 bucks cash in 2014… and I have ended up on HUNDREDS of ads and storefronts and pamphlets and textbook covers,” Liu wrote in a series of Instagram Stories back in 2020.
He added that he learned a valuable lesson from the ordeal: “Moral of the story: Think twice before doing a stock photoshoot [sic] because they own the photos FOREVER.”
Following his “Shang-Chi” success, Liu is set to star in several upcoming projects, including the “Barbie” movie and the thriller “Hello Stranger.”
Liu will also be one of this year’s presenters at the 94th Academy Awards, joining Lily James, John Leguizamo, Rami Malek, Uma Thurman, Kevin Costner, Zoë Kravitz, Lady Gaga, Rosie Perez, Chris Rock and Yuh-Jung Youn.
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