You probably know Brenda Song from her roles in The Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Netflix's Secret Obsession.
The 31-year-old had her heart set on starring in Crazy Rich Asians as well...except she wasn't allowed to audition.
In a new interview with Teen Vogue, Brenda revealed, “A lot of people don't know this, but I never got to read for Crazy Rich Asians, ever.”
“Their reasoning behind that, what they said was that my image was basically not Asian enough, in not so many words. It broke my heart," she continued.
"I said, ‘This character is in her late to mid-20s, an Asian American, and I can't even audition for it? I've auditioned for Caucasian roles my entire career, but this specific role, you're not going to let me do it? You're going to fault me for having worked my whole life?’ I was like, ‘Where do I fit?’”
The Dollface star added, “I got myself together and said, ‘Brenda, there is only one you, and you can't change who you are. You can't change your past.’ I am so grateful for every job that I've done."
"All I can do is continue to put good auditions out there, do the best that I can — that's all I can ask for."
Crazy Rich Asians director Jon M. Chu responded to Brenda's claims and said it "sucks if anything of that nature was ever communicated" and that he's "a fan of hers."
@phillipethao @gabebergado ??Nope. I love @BrendaSong and that sucks if anything of that nature was ever communicated. It’s gross actually. The fact is, obviously I know who she is and didn’t need her to audition. I’m a fan of hers! 🤷🏻♂️Nothing more nothing less. Bums me out she thought it was anything but.
Maybe we'll see Brenda in a CRA sequel in the future, but regardless, we know she has a long career ahead of her!
