Chloe Bennet Says She Changed Her Name Because 'Hollywood Is Racist'
Chloe Bennet just got real about casting in Hollywood.
The Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D actress did not hold back when a fan challenged her on the decision to change her name on Thursday, Aug. 31, 2017, Us Weekly reported.
"Changing my last name doesn't change the fact that my BLOOD is half Chinese, that I lived in China, speak Mandarin or that I was culturally raised both American and Chinese," the actress responded on Instagram. "It means I had to pay my rent, and Hollywood is racist and wouldn't cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable."
As the 25-year-old, whose birth name is Chloe Wang, continued, "I'm doing everything I can, with the platform I have, to make sure no one has to change their name again, just so they can work."
The reveal came soon after Bennet applauded actor Ed Skrein's decision to drop out of the Hellboy reboot earlier this week following accusations of whitewashing. The character he was set to play, Major Ben Daimio, was originally of mixed Asian descent.
"D*MN, that's a man. Thank you @edskrein for standing up against Hollywood's continuous insensitivity and flippant behavior towards the Asian American community," Bennet wrote on Instagram. "There is no way this decision came lightly on your part, so thank you for your bravery and genuinely impactful step forward. I hope this inspires other actors/film makers to do the same."
This is not the first time the Nashville actress has called out racism in Hollywood casting. "Oh, the first audition I went on after I changed my name, I got booked," she told The Daily Beast in April 2016. "So that's a pretty clear little snippet of how Hollywood works."
While some fans may have been critical of Bennet's name change, she did gain a new fan in The Hangover's Ken Jeong, who tweeted a screenshot of her reply. "Mad respect," he wrote, adding, "@ChloeBennet4 for the win," complete with a heart emoji.