UPDATE: Shannon Lee Slams Quentin Tarantino Following Controversial Comments
“He could shut up about it. That would be really nice.”
UPDATE (August 16, 2019): Following Tarantino’s comments on his portrayal of Bruce Lee in the movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Lee’s daughter Shannon has once again responded, when asked how the director could rectify the controversy. “He could shut up about it. That would be really nice. Or he could apologize or he could say, ‘I don’t really know what Bruce Lee was like. I just wrote it for my move. But that shouldn’t be taken as how he really was,” she said in an interview with Variety.
“One of the things that’s troubling in his response is that, on the one hand, he wants to put this forward as fact and, on the other hand, he wants to stay in fiction,” she added. Tarantino has not yet commented on the most recent backlash, but make sure to keep your eyes peeled as any updates surface.
UPDATE (August 14, 2019): Following backlash on Quentin Tarantino‘s latest movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for its portrayal of Bruce Lee, the director has finally commented on the controversy at a press conference in Moscow.
WARNING: Spoilers below.
Addressing Shannon Lee’s recent comment on how her father Bruce Lee was portrayed in a misleading way, Tarantino mentioned that he was “kind of an arrogant guy. The way he was talking, I didn’t just make a lot of that up. I heard him say things like that, to that effect.” The director went on to explain, “If people are saying, ‘Well he never said he could beat up Muhammad Ali,’ well yeah, he did. Not only did he say that, but his wife, Linda Lee, said that in her first biography I ever read. She absolutely said that.”
This follows Birth. Movies. Death.‘s recent interview with actor Michael Moh who played the martial artist in the film. Originally a huge fan of Bruce Lee, Moh mentioned he was surprised to read the script. “I’m not going to tell you what the original script had exactly, but when I read it, I was so conflicted because he’s my hero.”
Quentin Tarantino‘s anticipated movie Once Upon A Time In Hollywood has finally arrived. The film stars some of the biggest names in entertainment including Margot Robbie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, and has been one of the most talked about movies this month.
Following its release Shannon Lee, daughter of Bruce Lee has publicly commented on the way her father was portrayed in the movie, expressing her disappointment. “[He] comes across as an arrogant asshole who was full of hot air, and not someone who had to fight triple as hard as any of those people did to accomplish what was naturally given to so many others,” she told The Wrap, adding that it was heartbreaking sitting in the theatre and “listen to people laugh at my father.”
“I can understand all the reasoning behind what is portrayed in the movie. I understand that the two characters [Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt] are antiheroes, and this is sort of like a rage fantasy of what would happen … and they’re portraying a period that clearly had a lot of racism and exclusion,” she said, and added “I understand they want to make the Brad Pitt character this super-badass who could beat up Bruce Lee. But they didn’t need to treat him in the way that white Hollywood did when he was alive.”
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Tarantino has yet to respond to the situation, but make sure to keep your eyes peeled here as any more information surfaces.
