'The Umbrella Academy' called out for falling victim to the 'Silent Asian' trope

Jimmy Wong took to social media over the weekend to point out Hollywood's long-running issue of putting Asian characters in roles that fall in the "Silent Asian" trope.

The "Mulan" actor said he noticed while binge-watching shows during the pandemic that most Asian characters with important roles often have minimal to no speaking parts. He said this is a classic example of the misinterpretation of Asian characters. He then specifically mentioned Min's role in "The Umbrella Academy" as the ghost Ben Hargreeves and Karen Fukuhara's mute Kimiko Miyashiro in "The Boys."

"Least favorite acting thing I've noticed during pandemic binge-watching: incredibly sexy and good looking Asian actors playing characters with barely ANY dialogue because it's supposed to be... mysterious?" Wong tweeted.

In "The Umbrella Academy," Ben can only communicate with his brother Klaus who can see the dead. He has minimal speaking parts but played a big role in the Season 2 finale. He finally went to the light after he mustered up what physical strength he got in order to prevent Vanya from creating another apocalypse. He was the hero in the story.

As for Fukuhara, she cannot speak because of childhood trauma and communicates via her own sign language. Regardless of her condition, fans of the character still find her appealing.

"Im sorry your reaching and seeing racism where none exists. Plus Kamiko is a fing bada**. I will not hear bad things about her," one fan replied.

"The worst thing is that you take a non racially specific trope and call it a stereotype just because you see a lot of Asian actors in these roles. If you look up silent characters a lot of white characters come up too. Silent Bob is my favorite example," another wrote.

Despite the reasoning from fans, Wong directed them to a September interview with "The Boys" showrunner Eric Kripke in which he addressed the "Silent Asian" trope. Kripke admitted that he too fell "into the stereotype of 'a quiet Asian woman' in the first season.

However, Wong can rest assured that Min will have more speaking parts in "The Umbrella Academy" Season 3. He will no longer play the ghost Ben, but as the sinister leader of the mysterious Sparrow Academy.