Multi-Oscar winning filmmaker Steven Spielberg is facing the wrath of Korean Drama fans on Twitter after his statement about the actors of the global hit series 'Squid Game' went viral.
The Hollywood star spoke at an awards panel over the weekend, where he reportedly implied that the actors of the Korean series 'Squid Game' were "unknown people."
Thanking an OTT giant for giving supposedly 'lesser-known actors' the chance to lead productions and gain global recognition, he was quoted by Deadline saying, "A long time ago, it was domestic stars that brought the audience into movies. Today, it's interesting, unknown people can star entire miniseries, can be in movies."
Maddie Ziegler joins Spielberg's 'West Side Story' remake
"'Squid Game' comes along and changes the math entirely for all of us," he added. His comments have sparked outrage on social media platforms with fans of actors Lee Jung Jae, Jung Ho Yeon, Gong Yoo, Park Hae slamming him for "denouncing their artistry". "The world doesn't revolve around America, Spielberg. They're "unknown" to you because you haven't watched any of their work prior to Squid Game," Tweeted a fan.
"Unknown??? majority of the stars in squid game are absolute Korean legends. just cause they’re not freaking American culture doesn’t give you the right to denounce their artistry," Added another.
"Spielberg, my man - I know you're the greatest filmmaker of all time but please watch more movies before giving such poor comments. American media content isn't the start & end of "Entertainment Content". & the Squid Game actors (especially the MC) aren't some unknown at all," Read a Tweet.
Calling Spielberg's statement 'privileged', another angry Twitter user wrote, "Too many privileged white people in America like Spielberg, Lee Jung Jae and other actors in Squid Games are unheard of, but these people have been well known in Asia for years, esp Lee. As a celebrity, he should try to make his public statements as inclusive as possible."
This prompted another Twitter user to say, "Even if you’re arguing that Spielberg meant that the cast of Squid Game was unknown to American audiences, that completely disregards and erases the AAPI community, Black people like me, etc. who make up said audience, to whom these actors were NOT 'unknown'."
This is not the first time the cast of 'Squid Game' has been on the receiving end of potentially condescending comments from Western media. Lee Jung Jae won hearts when he casually and respectfully answered a question by a reporter who asked him, "I'm sure you can't leave the house anymore without people recognizing you. What has been the biggest life change for you since the series came out?"
Similarly, after the lead actors, Jung Ho Yeon and Lee Jung Jae won the Best Actress and Best Actor awards at the 28th Screen Actors Guild Awards, they were asked an "ignorant" question by a reporter. After their win, the two stars took questions backstage, when one reporter asked, "Now that you’re SAG winners, what are you going to miss the most about being anonymous?"
Although unable to wipe the baffled look on their faces, Jung Ho Yeon simply laughed it off shrugged and said, "Nothing!"
