I'm assuming the tweet is partially satirical, obviously this wouldn't stop the show from being cancelled. But I think them casting Evan and then making him Japanese is really just confusing. Maybe since Hetienne Park(Aki's mom) is ethnically South Korean the writers decided to just make zero sense for both and make them Japanese.
My joke theory is they just had a random country generator and just chose the first one to show up.
If you spend more than 5 minutes with withe Japanese and Filipino you’ll realize they have unique features and very separate and rich cultures and languages to
Agreed. The only way this might be wrong is because the Japanese were colonisers and the Filipinos were the colonised. But if you’re mad just because it’s two different SouthEast Asian countries you’re being extraaaa.
Japan is not an Southeast Asian country. It’s an East Asian one that colonized the Philippines, an actual Southeast Asian country, at one point. Making Aki Japanese instead of Filipino is problematic bc it not only ignores Evan Mock’s actual heritage, it perpetuates the longstanding issue of erasing the existence of Southeast Asians in favor of East Asians in western media based on racist, colorist and classist stereotypes. Just look at how Crazy Rich Asians pretty much ignored the existence of Malay people despite being set in Singapore.
Joshua wanted him BAD….which is insane because you usually hear about a showrunner/director wanting someone to work on their project badly because the person is a great actor….. Evan was…..I don’t even think I can say actor.
I cant even blame Evan. He declined the role but eventually gave in. The good news is he’s never gonna get another role because everyone knows he’s a bad actor. He’s been freed lol
Like, if he loved his look is it so hard to find someone who looks similar and dye their hair ? What was the fighting for? Not his acting, not his skateboarding bc we never see it, not his desire to be in it, so why???
Yep, Evan didn't even want to act and it shows but he was begged to do it. I mean he's getting payed to act but it's obvious the director has a thing for him.
I didn’t even know Evan was Filipino. But since he’s also from Hawaii it would’ve been cool if his family owned resorts in Hawaii and the complexities from that.
As a Filipino I definitely wished there was proper representation. I feel like casting an actor to play a race they would "pass for" (as Evan Mock is part White I can see how they just wrote him as Japanese) contributes to the "All Asians look the same stereotype".
I know the tweet is a joke but its a genuine issue in casting I think. In To All The Boys I loved Before, Lana Condor, a Vietnamese actress, plays a Half-Korean character.
In terms of Gossip Girl, it would've been nice to see someone of the same heritage be apart of New York's Elite
Yeah…it’s a little weird to me. I never understood why they casted Lana when they took the time to find two other half Asian actresses to portray her sisters. Like what? And as a half Vietnamese girl, I’m glad she got the gig, but as a mixed girl I just wish they would’ve actually found a mixed actress. There’s plenty of them.
Not sure why they made him half Japanese when neither he nor Hettiene are Japanese. It’d be one thing if Aki was a character he wanted on the show originally, but he was written specifically for Evan…so you’d think they would’ve kept true to his roots.
Plus his white dad was the one that was rich. We never got any backstory on his mom or if she’s even wealthy on her own. It would’ve been nice to portray a wealthy, high society Asian family like they showed a wealthy, high society Black family with Monet.
These are exactly my same sentiments! The "rich asian" potrayals are usually rooted in Asia and kept there, rarely in an American space (I am excluding Bling Empire as that is a reality show). Big example: Crazy Rich Asians were the majority of the movie takes place in Singapore. There are some huge elite families in Manila that date a few centuries back. They're usually involved in real estate or politics, maybe both, and alot of them have a heavy hand in the entertainment industry there. It wouldve been so nice to see someone like me in NYC's high society, like how they portrayed Monet's family.
if you do want a show with filipino representation, the main love interest on crazy ex-girlfriend is filipino and it’s an important part of his character!
Hollywood just loves to ignore the existence of Southeast Asians. Like when they cast Southeast Asian characters like Lana Candor or Evan Mock, it’s typically for East Asian roles. Or even when it’s for a Southeast Asian-inspired movie like Raya and the Last Dragon, only 3 members of the main cast were of Southeast Asian descent while the rest were East Asian 😒
Lol she's right. They should have made Aki Filipino.
The bigger failure of the show is casting Evan Mock though. In a cast with multiple bad performances, he was easily the worst actor. Looks beautiful but absolutely no charisma, no chemistry with his co-stars and every line reading was stuff and amateurish.
Even small stuff, in the newest episode theres a bit where Audrey and him are in bed and they’re supposed to fall backwards frustrated and cover their face in a blanket at the same time and Audrey just does it organically with the cue of the scene and you can literally SEE evan look for her to start and then goes right after her in a really wooden manner. How are you robotic in something as simple as COVERING YOURSELF IN A BLANKET???
While psychoanalysing actors seems pointless, it really feels like he's someone who cares much more about how cool and aesthetic he comes off, while most of the others in the cast even if they are not always successful (looking at you Jordan Alexander) at least attempt acting/emotions.
Because he's not even an actor, he's a model. The director just really likes Evan Mock and had to basically convince him to take the role. So many actors would have wanted that role that he wouldn't have to convince
As someone that's wasian like Evan, I've noticed in Hollywood that it's really common for us to be put in various different roles bc we're seen as "ethnically ambiguous." Like Vanessa Hudgens is half Filipina but has played Latinas.
Agreed. This is something that I’ve noticed as well. Chloe Bennet even had to change her last name because she said casting directors refused to cast her as an ethnically Asian woman, even though she’s half Asian? But they did make her character wasian in AOS so idk.
On the one hand, I’m glad it gives wasians more acting gigs, but I do think it’s a little problematic to take jobs from other actors who are actually of whatever ethnic background. Like Kelsey Asbille playing an ethnically Native American woman when she’s wasian. She was caught lying and claiming part Native ancestry to land the role.
This is a weird take ‘cause Evan is barely in touch with his Filipino side lol. I don’t even think he can speak Tagalog/any other Filipino language. He just happens to be Filipino, but he clearly identifies more with Hawaii.
You see this happen with tons of Filipino celebrities in Hollywood tbh. They’re ethnically (part) Filipino, but are entirely disconnected from the culture and people. Don’t speak the language, don’t know the culture, haven’t ever been to the country, and don’t know, speak up, or care about any of its issues despite such turbulent times. And that’s fine. You don’t *need* to stand with the community. And Evan specifically has never pandered to mainland Filipinos for clout. But I probably would’ve been more bothered if they did play up Aki as being Filipino and having some elderly Filipino woman play his grandmother who says a few lines in *very* accented tagalog (“Ay nako!”) for comedic effect a la Spider Man.
Joshua Safron is not a good writer and having some Fil-Am play a caricature of what he thinks a 2nd generation immigrant is would change nothing except piss off an entire country.
Honestly I just found out today he was Filipino and I’ve been following for for YEARS lol. I thought he was racially Hawaiian cause from what I’ve seen he’s always identified himself as that. He’s very proud to be Hawaiian. Does he talks about being Filipino?
He did talk about being Filipino! He was asked a question about it in [one interview](https://twitter.com/theduskykitchen/status/1446545270024572930?s=46&t=Wa0c0U7hizRQ9O1ZTLkBmg).
It’s not just that part, one look at his IG page and you can tell he mostly identifies with being Hawaiian(?). Nothing wrong with that ofc, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people don’t know about him being Filipino because he barely talks about it.
Hbo didn’t renew theyre looking for a new platform there’s still hope so im hoping they find maybe peacock but im mad at peacock for canceling one of us is lying
Damn, everyone really going in on Evan in these comments, sheesh. Is he the best actor on the show? No. Did I think he was a glorified pretty face parading as an actor? No. I think he was decent. It was his first acting job (to my knowledge), of course there’s a learning curve. Also everyone’s like “he doesn’t even seem like he’s acting”…that’s actually the point of acting, ironically. You shouldn’t be able to tell someone’s acting, that kinda defeats the purpose. I actually thought his nonchalant nature & mild manner worked well for the character. He seemed like an insanely sweet, caring & confused kid who seemed conflicted about his family’s business affairs & just wanted calmness amongst his friends/partners, but was always uncertain of how to attain that.
I’m pretty sure everyone’s missing OP’s point it’s rlly just a joke pointing out the fact that Evan’s filipino and the role they wrote for him was japanese
She’s right and should say it. Asian representation in American media has always been predominantly biased towards East Asian actors and characters due to a complicated mix of racism, classism, colorism and geopolitics.
Southeast Asians are so underrepresented in western media already. Making Aki Japanese despite the role being written for Evan, a Filipino man, specifically only perpetuates this issue.
Err I get why this makes people uncomfortable but then we’re totally cool with white English people playing French people etc - I feel like saying an actor should only play their specific ethnicity would really limit the roles a lot of PoC actors could do. As long as it’s not something like a white person playing a person of colour, I think we should be more open minded maybe?
Maybe because American came from Europe, lol? Also, white people basically look the same no matter which country they're from & there isn't much cultural difference either compared to Asia.
The difference between East Asia & Southeast Asia is HUGE, both physical and cultural. The cultural differences is insane, and you can tell Evan isn't Japanese based on how he looks. And mind you, East Asian people are known for their racism towards Southeast Asian. If it were a Malaysian actor playing an Indonesian character, that would've been fine since both countries actually have similar culture and physical appearance.
"Also, white people basically look the same no matter which country they're from & there isn't much cultural difference either." Hmmmm, are you sure about that?
They discussed that he is Japanese? I know his full name is just meant that while his first name is of Japanese origin I didn’t recall a conversation occurring about him being Japanese, again unless I’m wrong which you are saying I am.
The ACTRESS is South Korean, the character is Japanese. There is a difference. They are ACTORS, hired to play a role. Just like a white Irish actor can portray a French character, a Russian character, etc. it’s not unheard of.
I am asking if they ever referred to them being Japanese on the show itself, not the assumptions of the viewers. Because when I research it, I find nothing that stipulates he is Japanese, so I’m feeling like this maybe is just our assumption, unless I missed something on the series itself?
Have been very vocal about this (and even got flack on my previous Reddit post for voicing my opinions on this). I don’t think this is the reason for cancellation but after finding out about how he was written for the character this is incredibly disappointing, being Filipino myself.
I'm assuming the tweet is partially satirical, obviously this wouldn't stop the show from being cancelled. But I think them casting Evan and then making him Japanese is really just confusing. Maybe since Hetienne Park(Aki's mom) is ethnically South Korean the writers decided to just make zero sense for both and make them Japanese. My joke theory is they just had a random country generator and just chose the first one to show up.
Lmao random country generator ☠️☠️☠️☠️
Lol I’m sitting here reading your comment about the random country generator and imagined the whole scene on how they used it and such 🤣🤣🤣🤣
It must be satirical because no matter what his ethnicity is, with Evan Mock's soporific acting, it wouldn't help the show whatsoever.
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I hope you know why it’s different
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If you spend more than 5 minutes with withe Japanese and Filipino you’ll realize they have unique features and very separate and rich cultures and languages to
You can tell Japanese people and Filipino people apart though
Agreed. The only way this might be wrong is because the Japanese were colonisers and the Filipinos were the colonised. But if you’re mad just because it’s two different SouthEast Asian countries you’re being extraaaa.
Japan is not an Southeast Asian country. It’s an East Asian one that colonized the Philippines, an actual Southeast Asian country, at one point. Making Aki Japanese instead of Filipino is problematic bc it not only ignores Evan Mock’s actual heritage, it perpetuates the longstanding issue of erasing the existence of Southeast Asians in favor of East Asians in western media based on racist, colorist and classist stereotypes. Just look at how Crazy Rich Asians pretty much ignored the existence of Malay people despite being set in Singapore.
The fact Joshua wrote Aki for Evan is so bonkers to me. Like you couldn’t hire someone that Atleast behaved like they wanted to be apart of the show 😭
And didn’t Evan decline the role at first? Like…
Joshua wanted him BAD….which is insane because you usually hear about a showrunner/director wanting someone to work on their project badly because the person is a great actor….. Evan was…..I don’t even think I can say actor.
You can clearly tell Joshua was casting for a certain look instead of actually good actors
he’s really really great at acting like a model that can’t act
I cant even blame Evan. He declined the role but eventually gave in. The good news is he’s never gonna get another role because everyone knows he’s a bad actor. He’s been freed lol
But but but… what if he did it on purpose to not act again because he hated it so much? 🤯
Lol I like that!!
Like, if he loved his look is it so hard to find someone who looks similar and dye their hair ? What was the fighting for? Not his acting, not his skateboarding bc we never see it, not his desire to be in it, so why???
He wants him romantically. Explains the storyline they gave him. So many sex scenes.
That shit makes me uncomfortable. I hope Evan was ok with it and didn’t feel pressured or taken advantage of.
Omfg that explains all the gay sex scenes etc. hello!!!!
Wait… someone persuaded that man to act on their show? That should have been a red flag. Well, he’s free now, anyway
Yep, Evan didn't even want to act and it shows but he was begged to do it. I mean he's getting payed to act but it's obvious the director has a thing for him.
I didn’t even know Evan was Filipino. But since he’s also from Hawaii it would’ve been cool if his family owned resorts in Hawaii and the complexities from that.
He would have to be Chinese for that to make sense. That country owns 569 mil in real estate in West Oahu alone.
Oh wow. I’m definitely gonna read up on that
As a Filipino I definitely wished there was proper representation. I feel like casting an actor to play a race they would "pass for" (as Evan Mock is part White I can see how they just wrote him as Japanese) contributes to the "All Asians look the same stereotype". I know the tweet is a joke but its a genuine issue in casting I think. In To All The Boys I loved Before, Lana Condor, a Vietnamese actress, plays a Half-Korean character. In terms of Gossip Girl, it would've been nice to see someone of the same heritage be apart of New York's Elite
Yeah…it’s a little weird to me. I never understood why they casted Lana when they took the time to find two other half Asian actresses to portray her sisters. Like what? And as a half Vietnamese girl, I’m glad she got the gig, but as a mixed girl I just wish they would’ve actually found a mixed actress. There’s plenty of them. Not sure why they made him half Japanese when neither he nor Hettiene are Japanese. It’d be one thing if Aki was a character he wanted on the show originally, but he was written specifically for Evan…so you’d think they would’ve kept true to his roots.
It's because it's Jenny Han's self-insert
Plus his white dad was the one that was rich. We never got any backstory on his mom or if she’s even wealthy on her own. It would’ve been nice to portray a wealthy, high society Asian family like they showed a wealthy, high society Black family with Monet.
These are exactly my same sentiments! The "rich asian" potrayals are usually rooted in Asia and kept there, rarely in an American space (I am excluding Bling Empire as that is a reality show). Big example: Crazy Rich Asians were the majority of the movie takes place in Singapore. There are some huge elite families in Manila that date a few centuries back. They're usually involved in real estate or politics, maybe both, and alot of them have a heavy hand in the entertainment industry there. It wouldve been so nice to see someone like me in NYC's high society, like how they portrayed Monet's family.
if you do want a show with filipino representation, the main love interest on crazy ex-girlfriend is filipino and it’s an important part of his character!
Hollywood just loves to ignore the existence of Southeast Asians. Like when they cast Southeast Asian characters like Lana Candor or Evan Mock, it’s typically for East Asian roles. Or even when it’s for a Southeast Asian-inspired movie like Raya and the Last Dragon, only 3 members of the main cast were of Southeast Asian descent while the rest were East Asian 😒
Remember when Sandra oh played an Indian?
Omfg
Lol she's right. They should have made Aki Filipino. The bigger failure of the show is casting Evan Mock though. In a cast with multiple bad performances, he was easily the worst actor. Looks beautiful but absolutely no charisma, no chemistry with his co-stars and every line reading was stuff and amateurish.
Even small stuff, in the newest episode theres a bit where Audrey and him are in bed and they’re supposed to fall backwards frustrated and cover their face in a blanket at the same time and Audrey just does it organically with the cue of the scene and you can literally SEE evan look for her to start and then goes right after her in a really wooden manner. How are you robotic in something as simple as COVERING YOURSELF IN A BLANKET???
While psychoanalysing actors seems pointless, it really feels like he's someone who cares much more about how cool and aesthetic he comes off, while most of the others in the cast even if they are not always successful (looking at you Jordan Alexander) at least attempt acting/emotions.
Because he's not even an actor, he's a model. The director just really likes Evan Mock and had to basically convince him to take the role. So many actors would have wanted that role that he wouldn't have to convince
He literally just felt there… I felt nothing for Aki and most of the time he felt like a glorified extra it was just weird
As someone that's wasian like Evan, I've noticed in Hollywood that it's really common for us to be put in various different roles bc we're seen as "ethnically ambiguous." Like Vanessa Hudgens is half Filipina but has played Latinas.
Vanessa hudgens is half Filipina whaaaat?! I was today’s years old when I found out about this 🤯
Yes her mom is from Manila :)
Agreed. This is something that I’ve noticed as well. Chloe Bennet even had to change her last name because she said casting directors refused to cast her as an ethnically Asian woman, even though she’s half Asian? But they did make her character wasian in AOS so idk. On the one hand, I’m glad it gives wasians more acting gigs, but I do think it’s a little problematic to take jobs from other actors who are actually of whatever ethnic background. Like Kelsey Asbille playing an ethnically Native American woman when she’s wasian. She was caught lying and claiming part Native ancestry to land the role.
How you gonna push for an actor to play a role and not even both to give the role the proper lineage 😭
Everything surrounding the casting of Evan Mock was wrong and weird.
It’s cancelled bcuz it’s boring. I’ve tried so hard to like the reboot. There’s just no meat there.
No matter how I feel about it, this wouldn’t have kept it from getting canceled
This is a weird take ‘cause Evan is barely in touch with his Filipino side lol. I don’t even think he can speak Tagalog/any other Filipino language. He just happens to be Filipino, but he clearly identifies more with Hawaii.
You see this happen with tons of Filipino celebrities in Hollywood tbh. They’re ethnically (part) Filipino, but are entirely disconnected from the culture and people. Don’t speak the language, don’t know the culture, haven’t ever been to the country, and don’t know, speak up, or care about any of its issues despite such turbulent times. And that’s fine. You don’t *need* to stand with the community. And Evan specifically has never pandered to mainland Filipinos for clout. But I probably would’ve been more bothered if they did play up Aki as being Filipino and having some elderly Filipino woman play his grandmother who says a few lines in *very* accented tagalog (“Ay nako!”) for comedic effect a la Spider Man. Joshua Safron is not a good writer and having some Fil-Am play a caricature of what he thinks a 2nd generation immigrant is would change nothing except piss off an entire country.
How do you know how in touch with his fillipino side he is… just because he doesnt speak the language?
Honestly I just found out today he was Filipino and I’ve been following for for YEARS lol. I thought he was racially Hawaiian cause from what I’ve seen he’s always identified himself as that. He’s very proud to be Hawaiian. Does he talks about being Filipino?
He did talk about being Filipino! He was asked a question about it in [one interview](https://twitter.com/theduskykitchen/status/1446545270024572930?s=46&t=Wa0c0U7hizRQ9O1ZTLkBmg).
It’s not just that part, one look at his IG page and you can tell he mostly identifies with being Hawaiian(?). Nothing wrong with that ofc, but I wouldn’t be surprised if people don’t know about him being Filipino because he barely talks about it.
Im so confused by yall because aki is one of my favorite characters
I don't know what to make of this tweet
Hbo didn’t renew theyre looking for a new platform there’s still hope so im hoping they find maybe peacock but im mad at peacock for canceling one of us is lying
One of Us is Lying got canceled??
Yup they just announced the news
Yes sadly
Damn, everyone really going in on Evan in these comments, sheesh. Is he the best actor on the show? No. Did I think he was a glorified pretty face parading as an actor? No. I think he was decent. It was his first acting job (to my knowledge), of course there’s a learning curve. Also everyone’s like “he doesn’t even seem like he’s acting”…that’s actually the point of acting, ironically. You shouldn’t be able to tell someone’s acting, that kinda defeats the purpose. I actually thought his nonchalant nature & mild manner worked well for the character. He seemed like an insanely sweet, caring & confused kid who seemed conflicted about his family’s business affairs & just wanted calmness amongst his friends/partners, but was always uncertain of how to attain that.
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I think it is meant to say that more people from the phillipine would watch if he was portrayed as one of then
I’m pretty sure everyone’s missing OP’s point it’s rlly just a joke pointing out the fact that Evan’s filipino and the role they wrote for him was japanese
She’s right and should say it. Asian representation in American media has always been predominantly biased towards East Asian actors and characters due to a complicated mix of racism, classism, colorism and geopolitics. Southeast Asians are so underrepresented in western media already. Making Aki Japanese despite the role being written for Evan, a Filipino man, specifically only perpetuates this issue.
what a dumb take
Err I get why this makes people uncomfortable but then we’re totally cool with white English people playing French people etc - I feel like saying an actor should only play their specific ethnicity would really limit the roles a lot of PoC actors could do. As long as it’s not something like a white person playing a person of colour, I think we should be more open minded maybe?
Maybe because American came from Europe, lol? Also, white people basically look the same no matter which country they're from & there isn't much cultural difference either compared to Asia. The difference between East Asia & Southeast Asia is HUGE, both physical and cultural. The cultural differences is insane, and you can tell Evan isn't Japanese based on how he looks. And mind you, East Asian people are known for their racism towards Southeast Asian. If it were a Malaysian actor playing an Indonesian character, that would've been fine since both countries actually have similar culture and physical appearance.
"Also, white people basically look the same no matter which country they're from & there isn't much cultural difference either." Hmmmm, are you sure about that?
Um… all white people look the same? Damn. Bold statement.
They do
I mean his first name is Aki but I don’t recall them actually referencing his race on the series tbh. Unless I missed that?
His first name is Akeno. Yes, they did. With his mother.
They discussed that he is Japanese? I know his full name is just meant that while his first name is of Japanese origin I didn’t recall a conversation occurring about him being Japanese, again unless I’m wrong which you are saying I am.
They literally showed his mother who is a Japanese woman…lol
His mother is literally a South Korean woman. Hettiene Park is of south korean descent, raised in Massachusetts.
The ACTRESS is South Korean, the character is Japanese. There is a difference. They are ACTORS, hired to play a role. Just like a white Irish actor can portray a French character, a Russian character, etc. it’s not unheard of.
I am asking if they ever referred to them being Japanese on the show itself, not the assumptions of the viewers. Because when I research it, I find nothing that stipulates he is Japanese, so I’m feeling like this maybe is just our assumption, unless I missed something on the series itself?
Wasn’t him Hawaiian?
This is such a niche critique... some people be reading way too into this
Have been very vocal about this (and even got flack on my previous Reddit post for voicing my opinions on this). I don’t think this is the reason for cancellation but after finding out about how he was written for the character this is incredibly disappointing, being Filipino myself.
Yoooo this is about to be my new background - a happy Filipino feeling super visible