Ross Butler Opens up About His Decision to Stop Perpetuating Asian Stereotypes in Hollywood
The 13 Reasons Why actor, Ross Butler explained in an interview with Mashable back in 2017, that he was no longer auditioning for Asian-specific roles since he didn’t feel the stereotypes reflected who he was. Now, in 2021, Butler is seeing the effects of his decision to not continue perpetuating the typecasting.
Recently, there has been an increase in anti-Asian hate. Most notably, the world has seen this hate materialize in the devastating Atlanta spa shootings that transpired on March 16, 2021. The series of planned shootings killed eight people and injured one person. Out of the eight, six were Asian women. A day after the tragic event, Butler shared a poem about white privilege to Instagram and captioned it with the hashtag #StopHate.
When Butler went on The Talk in February he stated, “I think this all does stem from something we call ‘the model minority myth,’ and that’s just another way of saying a stereotype. And [the idea] that Asian people are a ‘superior’ minority and unfortunately that’s just not true. That’s something that even now we are battling,” He continued, “The sooner we can get over this and the sooner we can talk about these things openly, the sooner we can get over a lot of the minority racism that we’re experiencing. We’re in this together. We’re getting over racism together.”
The stereotypes in movies and TV shows may seem benign, but they contribute to a problem much bigger that has been going on for decades and centuries. Hopefully, Butler’s mindset is shared with those in the film industry.
Though it will take time and effort, if we all work together the violence against Asian Americans and toxic environment ceases to exist. For resources to help support the Asian community click here.
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