There’s a new addition to an internet debate that’s been going viral as of recent.
ICYMI, in a recent episode of Dragon’s Den (the Canadian version of Shark Tank), a grab-and-go bubble tea business brought up concerns of “cultural appropriation” for Simu Liu, a guest investor on this season of the show. In the episode, he explained these issues to the businessowners, and clips of this interaction have since taken the internet by storm.
The debate is definitely multi-faceted, with voices on all sides of the conversation. But one thing that’s been happening a lot since the clip went viral? People have been calling out the business — as well as Manjit Minhas, another investor on the show that made a deal with the company (which has since been rescinded, but we’ll get to that).
Tik Tok ran that Bobba company into the flames, my god.
— Steven Underwood (@blaqueword) October 14, 2024
Well, it’s clear Simu Liu has his eye on this internet debate, because he just weighed in again in a TikTok video posted Sunday, Oct. 13. And his comments definitely bring a new perspective to the table.
He starts off by saying, “I think we hit on a really important discussion about cultural appropriation: what it is, how is something exploitative rather than kind of paying homage and paying respect, and when is that line crossed?”
“I’ve been made aware that the businessowners have received a lot of death threats, and harassment, and otherwise kind of bullying and dogpiling. And I just want to say that, full stop, it’s never okay to make threats. It’s never okay to bully and harass online,” he said.
“I don’t mean that the businessowners don’t deserve valid criticism, and I don’t believe that you should not be vocal about your disagreement, but I think we can all agree: common sense, there’s a line,” Simu explained. “There’s a line that you don’t and shouldn’t cross. There’s a line that you wouldn’t cross in person.”
“I believe that the entrepreneurs of this business came on Dragon’s Den to pitch a business in good faith. There were a lot of things with the pitch that I took issue with, that I disagreed with, and as a result, I pulled out as a potential investor. But that doesn’t mean that I believe that they deserve harassment and threats. I think a lot of grace should be afforded to them: they’re French-Canadian; I think their exposure to these types of cultural conversations was limited, and I also think English was not their first language,” he said.
Simu also discussed some of the backlash that the show itself has been experiencing. “A lot of the time you’re seeing knee-jerk reactions and micro-expressions that happen faster than the blink of an eye, and then we can’t take them back because the camera is rolling.” He explained that the other investors were supportive and had a thoughtful discussion about the situation off-camera.
Speaking of Simu’s castmates, Manjit Minhas — the investor who made a deal with Bobba, the bubble tea company in question — has since spoken out as well.
“After more reflection, due diligence and listening to many of your opinions I will not be investing in Bobba Tea,” she said in a statement posted on Instagram. “I believe wholeheartedly, our cultures are meant to be shared, and this includes food, drink, clothing, dance, languages and weddings.”
As for the business itself? They responded to the situation, too. Their statement begins with an apology and some clarifications for a few comments they made in the episode. “What we were trying to do is celebrate that many other cultures are now enjoying this wonderful drink,” they wrote. “We never claimed that boba is new; what we explained during the show is that we have produced a different way to package it with a ready-to-drink glass bottle. […] At no point did we mean to insinuate that our Bobba bubble tea is better than traditional bubble tea in any way.”
So now that three of the major parties involved in this situation have responded, it’s definitely stirred up more discussion, and even looping in individuals who hadn’t yet seen the clip. People are expressing all kinds of different opinions all over the internet.
Not me getting apology screenshots from that Dragon show AND Bobba on my fyp 💀 I don’t even watch that show
— Nanami Kento (@rj_hooks) October 13, 2024