Listen… I am aware that I am late to this discussion about Simu Liu’s anti-appropriation crusade of boba on CBC’s Dragon’s Den, Canada’s interpolation of Shark Tank. I’ve read many comments and tons of articles about this moment in TV history but for those of you who aren’t caught up, let’s recap:
- Simu Liu is like Mark Cuban on Dragon’s Den
- White people came in trying to appropriate the Taiwanese drink boba and pretty much saying they weren’t
- Liu kindly called the colonizers out and refused to support
- Brown Asian (Manjit Minhas) next to Liu didn’t see the problem and invested in the colonizers
- “Boba-gate” became a part of the media cycle and so many people were shouting into the void like me
Jessica Frenette and Sébastien Fiset (not of Asian descent as far as I know), founders of the aforementioned Quebec-based company that was hawking bottled bubble tea, which they referred to as a “trendy, sugary drink” were asking for a $1 million investment — and Liu said the following:
“There’s … the issue of cultural appropriation. There’s an issue of taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and quote-unquote ‘making it better,’ which I have an issue with.”
and…
“I started this venture company for a lot of reasons, but really primarily to uplift minority entrepreneurs, and not only do I feel like this is not happening here, but that I would be uplifting a business that is profiting off of something that feels so dear to my cultural heritage.”
For better or for worse, Liu is known for being outspoken on social media. He is unfiltered and whether you like him or not, he will say what he feels — and this is a moment where it was beneficial.
That said, the producers of this show knew exactly what they were doing.
This was giving rage/race-baiting.
How are you going to bring in two white people and have them try to sell boba to Simu Liu — one of the most prominent Asian faces in the world? What did they expect to happen?
Yes, this moment calls out white people for doing what they do best: colonizing and appropriating. But at the end of the day, all the producers wanted to do was to create good TV. And what happened is exactly what they wanted.
Shout out to boba, though.
