Sony Pictures has moved the US release of Monster Hunter up by one week to December 18. This development comes amid backlash stemming from a scene which caused major controversy during screenings of the movie in China this past Friday.
The video game adaptation included a 10-second exchange between Asian American actor/rapper Jin Au-Yeung, aka MC Jin, and an unnamed white male actor, in which the former makes a tasteless joke with inferred racist connotations.
Some felt the outrage was unwarranted, while others interpreted the "joke" as a reference to racist schoolyard rhyme, “Chi-nese, Jap-a-nese, dir-ty knees, look at these,” which is usually accompanied by knee slaps and slant-eyed gestures.
Director Paul W.S. Anderson has now issued an apology for any offence caused, confirming that the line has been removed from the film and will not appear in any future screenings.
"I am absolutely devastated that a line from our movie, Monster Hunter, has offended some audience members in China," Anderson said in a statement (via Deadline). "I apologize for any anxiety or upset that this line and its interpretation caused. Monster Hunter was made as fun entertainment and I am mortified that anything within it has caused unintentional offense. We have respectfully removed the line from the movie. It was never our intention to send a message of discrimination or disrespect to anyone. To the contrary — at its heart our movie is about unity."
What do you guys make of this? Is the outrage warranted, or an overreaction? Drop us a comment down below.
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