Simu Liu speaks out against 'sensationalised media landscape' months post boba controversy

Late last year, Marvel actor Simu Liu was caught up in a boba (bubble tea) controversy after Canadian bubble tea company Bobba appeared on TV show Dragon's Den.

During its pitch for CA$1 million on the show, the owners Sebastien Fiset and Jess Frenette said Bobba aims to "disturb" the bubble tea market with a bottled version of the drink, describing it as a "trendy sugary drink that you queue up for, and you are never quite sure about its content".

Fiset and Frenette then called their product a healthier version of bubble tea.

Liu, who was then a guest investor, took issue with the matter and said he had an issue with taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity, and “making it better”.

Don't miss: Simu Liu calls out bubble tea brand for cultural appropriation: Why its apology missed mark 

Fast forward to today, Liu has just released a statement on LinkedIn saying that he’d like to share a few thoughts about Bobba, Dragon's Den, and the sensationalised media landscape.

“I was excited to be a part of the show, and genuinely looking forward to potentially investing in some great businesses. I had no idea what was about to happen,” he said, explaining that Liu he went on the show to invest primarily in minority founders.

He added that when the founders of Bobba came to pitch, he “immediately knew” he was being set up for a viral moment but tried to keep an open mind and not jump to conclusions – but yet speak his mind.

“As the only East Asian member on the panel, I felt that responsibility lay squarely on my shoulders,” he said. He added that he felt the need to speak up.

In the recent post, Liu also shed light on the happenings behind the scenes where the producers were constantly in his ears, urging him to be angrier. “I spoke kindly but firmly. I wasn't there to be the police of all boba... but it was my money and I had the right to not invest in a business that I believed appropriated culture,” he said.

Liu added that while he wasn’t in a rush to do business with the company, he genuinely believes the founders of Bobba pitched in good faith.

“Unfortunately, [the founders] wound up victims of an unfavorable edit done by producers who smelled a juicy moment. I genuinely hope they learned their lesson, and I hope you can too,” he said.

Meanwhile, the then exchange spurred a fair bit of backlash, prompting Liu, Bobba founders and Dragons’ Den investor Manjit Minhas, who initially invested in the product on the show, to release statements and call for an end to the threats and harassment Frenette and Fiset faced online.

Liu’s passion for Bobba and acknowledging ethnicity

Liu also shed light on his soft spot for bubble tea which he famously served Bill Gates his very first at the 2022 Time100 Gala.

“Not only do I enjoy the taste, I also appreciate its distinctly Asian identity. I may not be Taiwanese myself, but it's hard not to feel some ownership and connection to the drink that my friends and I would buy in Asian strip-malls before the rest of the world decided it was cool,” he said.

He added that once the pitch started, he knew “fairly quickly” that the founders were oblivious to the context of bubble tea and its origins.

“I asked if they put anything on the packaging or on their website that acknowledged the Asian roots of the drink. I asked if there were Asian co-founders, advisors, or investors. I got no on all fronts,” he said. Calling it a critical error, he said any business that wants to take an ethnic product and “improve” on it must properly acknowledging its roots.

Bobba’s statement on making amends

Since the initial incident, the founders of Bobba also released a statement saying that its choice of words was misguided and hence they understand the backlash.

“Our choice of words was wrong when trying to explain our point and for that we are extremely sorry. We never claimed that boba is new. At no point did we mean to insinuate that our Bobba bubble tea is better than traditional bubble tea in any way," it added.

Following the incident, Bobba had also said that it will re-evaluate its branding, packaging and marketing strategies to ensure that it reflects a respectful and accurate representation of its Taiwanese partnership and bubble tea's cultural roots.

"We understand that actions speak louder than words, and as such, are committed to taking these necessary steps to ensure our future decisions reflect our values and the deep level or respect we have for Taiwanese culture. This has been a valuable learning experience for all of us and we understand people's negative reactions, but we feel the hate speech and death threats are absolutely uncalled for and need to stop,” said the statement. 

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