Simu Liu defends deleting tweets slamming co-star Mark Wahlberg for assaulting a Vietnamese man

"Obviously it'd be pretty weird to go to work with that tweet still up"

Shang-Chi star Simu Liu has defended deleting previous tweets in which he slammed co-star Mark Wahlberg.

Last week it was announced that the Kim’s Convenience star is pairing up with Wahlberg on the upcoming film Arthur The King.

Soon after the announcement, critics were quick to highlight out Liu previously berated Wahlberg for attempting to be pardoned by courts for assaulting a Vietnamese man in 1988.

At age 15, Wahlberg, along with three friends, was charged for chasing three black kids and throwing rocks at them shouting “kill the niggers.”

Two years later in 1988, Wahlberg attacked two Vietnamese men whilst high on PCP. He called victim Thanh Lam racial slurs whilst knocking him unconscious with a stick.

Wahlberg also punched Vietnamese veteran Johnny Trinh in the eye whilst calling him a racist slur.

In 2018, Liu tweeted, “Let me get this straight, Mark Wahlberg beat a helpless Vietnamese man with a stick until he passed out when he was 16, and is attempting to get the courts to grant him an official pardon on the basis that he’s “turned his life around”?”

After people dug up the tweet, the Chinese Canadian deleted his remarks but consequently drew flak from it. Liu then took to social media to explain his actions.

“I deleted a couple of tweets I made regarding the past actions of one of my costars as a gesture of professionalism and to open to door to progressive conversations and (hopefully) positive change,” the 31-year-old said in a lengthy post.

“Obviously it’d be pretty weird to go to work with that tweet still up. I meant what I said in the moment; I was very angry hearing about what happened. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think there’s room to work together to find an opportunity to educate and do some good, which I’m excited to do in addition to shooting the movie.”

“Anyway; hope everyone is staying safe and healthy this holiday! Trying to stay positive in an otherwise jubilant and celebratory time, and I just wanted to share my thoughts.”

In related news, Kim’s Convenience has announced a release date for its Season 5 premiere.

Elsewhere, Liu recently called out Senator Marsha Blackburn for a racist tweet.