Simu Liu, the star of Marvel Studios' upcoming Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings, has revealed his former improv teacher told him to use anti-Asian racism in his comedy.Liu is among the actors who've spoken out against the rise in anti-Asian American hate crimes following the mass shooting in Atlanta, GA that left eight people dead, including six Asian American women. "Shoutout to the stand-up comedy teacher that told me that racism against Asian people was funny and I should make that my thing," Liu wrote on Twitter, adding "I guess I made it my thing."RELATED: Disney Delays Marvel's Shang-Chi, Free Guy and The King's Man

In an op-ed on anti-Asian racism published two weeks ago, Liu shared his thoughts and feelings about the uptick in anti-Asian sentiment and violence over the last year, the likes of which began alongside the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which originated in Wuhan, China. "I worry a lot about my parents these days," he wrote. "According to Stop AAPI Hate, a website that tracks the violence, against Asian Americans, there were over 2,800 reported cases of racism and discrimination between March 19 and Dec. 31 of last year." Liu also touched on the U.S.' longstanding history of anti-Asian sentiment and his own personal encounters with anti-Asian racism. "Of course, I’ve also heard the classic 'go back to China' more times than I can count," he added.

Earlier this year, Liu similarly talked about the stereotypes involving Asian and Asian American men in Hollywood movies, noting they're usually not cast as romantic leads. "These are really harmful depictions, so I want to fly in the face of that and challenge people to update their thinking about what Asian people look like, what we sound like and what we can do," he said. It wasn't the first time he'd spoken out against anti-Asian racism in Hollywood either. Previously, in Oct. 2020, he criticized a racist casting call for a project in New York seeking a "mom" and children of Chinese or Korean descent, but specifying their eyes should not be "down turned" or have a "monolid".

Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Daniel Callaham, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings stars Simu Liu, Tony Leung, Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, Jiang Nan, Meng'er Zhang. Ronny Chieng, Fala Chen and Jiang Len. The film arrives in theaters Sept. 3.

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Source: Twitter