Accused of Cultural Appropriation, Boycotted Marvel Star Awkwafina Speaks Out on MCU Future

Two years after her Marvel Cinematic Universe debut, actress Awkwafina has spoken about her MCU future, even after fans planned to boycott the projects she was involved in over cultural appropriation claims.

Awkwafina, a Korean American actress and rapper also known as Nora Lum, has starred in many blockbuster movies. She began her career on YouTube and later released a debut album, “Yellow Ranger” (2014), before starring in the MTV series Girl Code. Awkwafina transitioned into movies and appeared in various roles in films like Ocean’s 8 (2018), Jumanji: The Next Level (2019), and the critically acclaimed The Farewell (2019).

2021 proved to be a standout year for Awkwafina, who, shortly after beginning her semi-autobiographical Comedy Central series, Awkwafina is Nora from Queens, in 2020, appeared in two Disney movies. The actress appeared as the dragon Sisu in Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) and later starred as the original character Katy alongside Simu Liu in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021). Liu played the eponymous hero. Awkwafina later starred as Scuttle in the live-action Disney remake of The Little Mermaid (1989).

Related: Marvel Star’s Resurfaced Controversial Comments May Upset ‘Shang-Chi’ Release

Director Destin Daniel Cretton’s Marvel Phase Four movie was a hit with audiences and critics, and despite viewership and box office takings offset by the pandemic, it managed to break Labor Day records. Shang-Chi‘s exploration of Asian cultures, something not yet focused on specifically in the MCU, was particularly praised. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings had a predominantly Asian-American cast, including Liu and Awkwafina, as well as Michelle Yeoh as Ying Nan, Fala Chen as Ying Li, Meng’er Zhang as Xu Xialing, and Tony Leung as Xu Wenwu.

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings may have done well, but over the years, Awkwafina has come under fire for seemingly benefiting from cultural appropriation, specifically imitating and perpetuating a “Blaccent” throughout her career. This left many Marvel fans in a dilemma, with some going as far as to call a boycott against Shang-Chi due to Awkwafina’s involvement.

The controversy was rekindled when a 2017 interview resurfaced and revealed the Golden Globe winner’s thoughts on people portraying the Asian experience in film. “I refuse to do accents. I’m not OK with someone writing the Asian experience for an Asian character,” Awkwafina said. “I make it very clear: I don’t ever go out for auditions where I feel like I’m making a minstrel out of our people.”

However, following this, in early 2022, Awkwafina “retired” from Twitter (now X) and also stated that she denies the allegations of her using AAVE (African American Vernacular English). Her statement read, in part (via The Hollywood Reporter):

“As a non-black POC, I stand by the fact that I will always listen and work tirelessly to understand the history and context of AAVE, what is deemed appropriate or backwards towards the progress of ANY and EVERY marginalized group,” she wrote. “But I must emphasize: to mock, belittle or to be unkind in any way possible at the expense of others is: Simply. Not. My. Nature. It never has, and it never was.”

Now, as the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe hangs in the balance, thanks to a number of misfires from the superhero studio, Awkwafina has spoken about her future with Marvel.

“If [Shang-Chi 2] does happen, I’m just really excited to see where Katy will go. I think Destin is such an amazing filmmaker, working with him was incredible on the first Shang-Chi,” Awkwafina told ScreenRant. “I really think that he might have something exciting, so I’m very excited for that.”

Cretton is still working on the sequel to Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, as well as the Wonder Man Marvel television series, starring DC star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as the titular hero. His work as director on Avengers: The Kang Dynasty (2026), however, has fallen through, with the director stepping away from the project.

Related: Marvel Actor Was Canceled, Jumped to R-Rated Movie at Opposing Studio

The future of the MCU feels tenuous at this point. After a series of movies and TV shows that were received lukewarmly at best, Marvel Studios has some intense course-correcting to do. It was recently rumored that both Jeff Loveness and Michael Waldron had stepped away as the writers for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027), respectively, but a recent announcement confirmed that Waldron — known for Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) — is on board to scribe both feature films.

There is currently no concrete information surrounding Shang-Chi 2, but and can expect that both Simu Liu and Awkwafina will return once it enters production.

Do you think Shang-Chi 2 will happen? What do you think of Akwafina’s comments? 

This post is originally appeared on Inside the Magic.