Asian Character Portrayal in ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Sparks Boycott Calls

“The Devil Wears Prada 2” is facing a wave of backlash ahead of its global release, following online calls to boycott the film over controversy surrounding a newly introduced character.

Criticism is flooded in from China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, after viewers say a promotional clip from the movie, released earlier this month, evokes a racist anti-Asian slur and other stereotypes.

Viewers took issue with the depiction and name of “Jin Chao,” the character featured in the clip, saying it sounds similar to the derogatory phrase “ching chong,” historically used to mock the Asian language.

Audiences also pointed to the character, played by Helen J. Shen, wearing unfashionable clothing, glasses, and the listing of academic achievements as recycling outdated tropes compared to the other roles portrayed in the film.

“If you don’t want me, you can interview someone else. That’s totally fine,” Jin says in the teaser. “I did go to Yale, 3.86 GPA, lead soprano of the [Yale singing group] the Whiffenpoofs, and my ACT score was 36 on the very first time.”

The David Frankel-directed film reunites the original cast 20 years later, “Miranda,” “Andy,” “Emily,” and “Nigel” played by Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci, respectively.

The clip garnered millions of views across multiple platforms and comments from international viewers, journalists, and advocacy groups including The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) themselves.

“It’s unfortunate that offensive stereotypes continue to color how Asian American communities are perceived today, whether spread intentionally or not,” TAAF said in a statement.

“This is an everyday reality we face, and why TAAF invests in storytellers focused on capturing the full humanity of our community.”

“They made the assistant character on devil wears prada a typically high academic achieving asian woman with low social aptitude (very forgettable and a big lazy stupid trope in film),” added independent journalist Tanya Chen. “Again. Roll the clips of all the asian side characters throughout Hollywood history. So lazy.”

According to TAAF, Asian characters are one of the most underrepresented demographics in the entertainment industry.

When it comes to leading roles, only 6 percent of Asian characters in the top 100 works were featured, less than 4 percent in leading broadcast television and streaming roles, and 1.9 percent on cable television roles.

The Epoch Times reached out to 20th Century Studios, the production and distribution company for the movie, but did not hear back by the time of publication.