Hollywood is racist, says Chloe amid ‘whitewashing’ row

The controversy over whitewashing — the term for the dominance of Caucasian actors — in Hollywood has taken a new turn, with actor Chloe Bennet saying that she changed her name from Chloe Wang in order to find roles.

Bennet, who stars on the show Agents of SHIELD, said her original surname made Hollywood “uncomfortable”. She wrote on Instagram: “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 post continued: “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. I’m doing everything I can... to make sure no one has to change their name again just so they can get work.”

Bennet praised actor Ed Skrein for pulling out of Hellboy and “standing up against Hollywood’s continuous insensitivity and flippant behaviour towards the Asian American community”.

Skrein said that he was unaware that his Hellboy character, Ben Daimio, had originally been drawn in comics as Asian — he pulled out of the role after claims that it was another example of Hollywood whitewashing. He said in a statement: “There has been intense conversation... and I must do what I feel is right.” Praising the actor, Bennet said: “Thank you for your bravery and genuinely impactful step forward.”

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK Actor Chloe Bennet says that her real name, Wang, wasn’t accepted