Steven Spielberg needs some potholders for the amount of hot water he’s in at the moment.
The critically acclaimed director is getting heat for comments he made about Korean actors on the Netflix series “Squid Game.”
At a Producers Guild of America Awards panel over the weekend, the 75-year-old applauded the streaming service for awarding “unknown actors” the opportunity to helm projects.
“A long time ago, it was domestic stars that brought the audience into movies,” Spielberg said. “Today, it’s interesting, unknown people can star [in] entire miniseries, can be in movies.”
“Squid Game” is a 2021 South Korean production that shocked viewers and brought in very high ratings for the streamer.
“ ‘Squid Game’ comes along and changes the math entirely for all of us,” the “West Side Story” filmmaker added before directing his attention to Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos. “Thank you, Ted.”
Spielberg was slammed on social media, with several noting that the show’s stars have been in the South Korean entertainment industry for quite some time.
As Twitter was quick to point out, the show’s lead, Lee Jung-jae, has starred in many iconic TV series and films, such as the thriller “The Housemaid,” and Park Hae-soo has made a name for himself in several popular Korean TV dramas like “Prison Playbook.”
“Americans always think the world doesn’t exist outside of America. They think everyone worships us when in reality they laugh at us. Actors, singers, politicians, scientists, doctors, lawyers, CEOs all exist in other countries. Stop being so ignorant,” someone tweeted recently.
Another added, “Correction: ‘Squid Game’ proves that Hollywood has been waaayyyyyy behind in recognizing and celebrating longstanding S. Korean Film/TV storytelling and talent.”
“Argggg more ethnocentrism courtesy of Americans who can’t see past their own borders. What series like Squid Game illustrate is exactly the opposite: that people around the world are satisfied with content other than English/white/US entertainment,” wrote one user.
Some chimed in, “Folks, today’s whitest take, brought to you by Mr. Steven Spielberg and the LITERAL all-star cast of Squid Game.”
A viewer jokingly added, ” ‘Only unknown because they aren’t in my country’s media’ Stephen, i know you’re busy. But a simple Google search for the shows imdb[.com entry] could easily have avoided that faux-pas.”