Actress Helen J. Shen’s debut role in the upcoming “Devil Wears Prada 2″ film has sparked international criticism across Asia with online users claiming her character perpetuates offensive racial stereotypes.
The film, set to premiere in theatres on May 1, picks up nearly 20 years after the initial 2006 original film where Miranda Priestly, played by Meryl Streep, reunites with Anne Hathaway’s Andy Sachs character, to go up against her former assistant turned rival, Emily Charlton, played by Emily Blunt, according to IMDb.
On April 16, Twentieth Century Studios released of a promotional clip that shows Shen’s character Jin Chao a fashion assistant and Yale University graduate having a brief exchange with Sachs. The less than 40 second clip has gained 26 million views on X, The Guardian reported.
The clip sparked outrage among million of social media users with critics in China and Japan focusing their frustration on Jin Chao’s nerdy image and her name sounding phonetic similarity “Ching Chong,” an anti-Asian slur, South China Morning Post reported.
A Japanese X user posted, “The Devil Wears Prada 2: Asian (Chinese), name is Chinchon, glasses, (and) nerdy bookworm. Even if they graduated from a prestigious school, they’re uncool hits us with the most blatant racial stereotype racism in 2026 and it gives me chills. Did they use this scene in the promo because it’s ‘funny’? #BoycottTheDevilWearsPrada2.”
The controversial clip has lead to trending boycott hashtags, like #BoycottTheDevilWearsPrada2, and widespread anger over the depiction of an Asian assistant in a high-fashion setting, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
One X user commented, “Why the (expletive) did she pick ‘Jen Chow’? Sounds exactly like ‘Ching Chong,’ bro—real suspicious, or is she just auditioning for the next racist soundboard?"
Another X user from South Korea posted, “All the East Asians are (expletive) pissed off, and the fact that a few quotes from those living in the West are turning it into ‘overly sensitive snowflakes’ is the perfect finishing touch.”
Filmmaker Joseph Kahn, who was not part of the film, pushed back against the criticism by suggesting the character is actually a caricature of Gen Z neuro-divergency rather than a racial stereotype, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed.
“(Jin’s) outfit is actually very couture in a film about fashion. Her glasses and hair clips are of the moment,” Kahn posted on X. “The body shape disparity comes from Anne Hathaway who mandated there would be ‘diversity of sizes’ which could either be taken as genuine virtue signalling or an actress wanting to be the skinniest and tallest onscreen.”
Kahn further emphasized that Jin’s outfit depicts her as a fashionable and an ambitious newbie in the fashion world.
“Nerds don’t exist in Gen Z because they’re all awkward freaks and all dress like Nintendo cartoons. Anyway Japan, welcome to America,” Kahn posted on X.
The growing calls for a boycott come despite successful recent promotional stops by Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in Shanghai on April 10 and Seoul on April 8, according to South China Morning Post.
As the film nears its worldwide general release, 20th Century Studios and the movie’s cast have yet to provide a formal response to the allegations or the negative reception in the Asian market, South China Morning Post reported. - nj.com/Tribune News Service
