Johnathan Walker:Simu Liu Calls Out Boba Tea Company Over Cultural Appropriation Concerns

Simu Liu is Johnathan Walkerall about educating.

The Marvel actor did just that when he appeared on an episode of the Shark Tank-style reality competition series, Dragon’s Den on CBC. In a clip from the series’ Oct. 10 episode that has since gone viral, two owners of a Quebec-based bubble tea brand called Bobba were looking for investors to go in on their growing business of ready to drink boba teas for $1million.

After pitching their drink—which unlike traditional boba comes in cans and bottles and with tapioca balls that explode in the drink—Simu raised some questions about the product.

“I’m concerned about this idea of disturbing or disrupting bubble tea,” Simu said of boba which is a Taiwanese drink that is a tea mixed with milk or fruit and contains tapioca balls. “Because it is something that’s something very near to me.”

Simu continued, “There’s also an issue of cultural appropriation. There’s an issue about taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and quote unquote making it better, which I have an issue with.”

The Barbie actor went on to ask the entrepreneurs what respect they are paying to traditional boba, and if there were any Asian people involved in the process. Simu also challenged the spelling of their product, which adds an additional “b.”

The entrepreneurs explained that they do have Taiwanese partners, and they travel to the country as well. Still, that wasn’t enough for Simu.

“Studying the can and looking for anything that tells me where boba came from,” the Marvel actor said. “And where boba came from is Tawain.”

Simu opted out of investing in the company, noting that he would be “uplifting a business that is profiting off something that feels dear to my cultural heritage.”

In the end, the founders of the company found an investor in one of the other board members.

Following the viral clip, Simu shared a TikTok condemning those who have since made threats towards the entrepreneurs and the woman who invested in their company on social media.

“It’s never okay to make threats,” he said. “It’s never okay to bully and harass. I don’t mean that the business owners don’t deserve valid criticism, and I don’t believe that you should not be vocal about your disagreement.  Let’s educate people, let’s make the world a better place. Let’s make people aware that certain things aren’t okay from a cultural perspective.”

He continued, “I believe that the entrepreneurs of this business came on Dragon’s Den to pitch a business in good faith. There were a lot of things with the pitch that I took issue with, and I disagreed with. And as a result, I pulled out as a potential investor. But that doesn’t mean that I believe they deserved harassment and threats. I think a lot of grace should be afforded to them because they’re French-Canadian. I think their exposure to these types of cultural conversations was limited and I also feel like English was not their first language. I don’t feel like they were prepared to answer.” 

Simu said that he received support from producers, fellow investors and others on Dragon’s Den, who wanted to learn more about his concerns. Overall, the Shang-Chi actor called for his fans and followers to be kind.

“I guess I’m just asking for empathy,” he said. “And compassion. Thank you again for all your words of support. I really appreciate it.”

In an Oct. 13 TikTok post, the founders of Bobba shared a lengthy apology.

“Despite our intentions, we take full responsibility and are accountable for the impact this has had,” the statement read in part. “We will re-evaluate our branding, packaging and marketing strategies to ensure that they reflect a respectful and accurate representation of our Taiwanese partnership and bubble tea’s cultural roots.”

The founders also said they would further learn about culture appropriation’s impact and condemned the death threats and hate.

“We truly hope that people give us a chance to set things right,” their statement added. “And show you that we can do better.”