“The Devil Wears Prada 2” character ignites accusations of Asian stereotyping

Mekishana PierreSat, April 25, 2026 at 7:04 PM UTC

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Helen J. Shen and Anne Hathaway in 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'Credit: 20th century studiosKey Points -

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is facing backlash after a recent teaser introduced the character Jin Chao, the new assistant to Anne Hathaway's character Andy.

Critics of the character's portrayal have accused it of playing into Asian stereotypes.

"It feels like the way Asians are portrayed in Hollywood movies from 20 years ago," one X user said.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 is facing backlash before it hits theaters next week.

The upcoming sequel — featuring the return of stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt — has drawn criticism after a promotional clip introducing a new character sparked accusations of Asian stereotyping.

A new teaser for the David Frankel–directed film shows Hathaway's Andy Sachs, who has come back to work at the fictional magazine Runway as its features editor, meeting her new assistant, Jin Chao, played by Helen J. Shen. In the clip, Jin misreads Andy's hesitation, thinking her new boss might have wanted someone else for the role, so she explains how she got it.

"If you don't want me, you can interview someone else. That's totally fine," Jin says before firing off her credentials. "I did go to Yale. 3.86 GPA. Lead soprano of the [Yale singing group] the Whiffenpoofs. And my ACT score was 36 on the very first time."

Helen J. Shen on April 20, 2026Credit: Getty

The clip, which has been viewed on X more than 26 million times, sparked a debate over whether the character's sense of style, her perceived awkwardness, and her being an academic overachiever reinforce what some critics claim to be old Hollywood stereotypes of Asian people.

Several users across China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and elsewhere argued that the pronunciation of the character's name sounds similar to a historically racist term, "Ch--- Ch---," used to mock Chinese people.

"I don't quite get how the name Zhao Jin ends up being pronounced as 'Chin Chou,'" one user, based in France, wrote in Chinese. "It's 2026 already, and we're still flip-flopping back and forth on racial discrimination issues — I just can't wrap my head around it either."

Another user wrote in Japanese, "It feels like the way Asians are portrayed in Hollywood movies from 20 years ago."

Another user, based in the Netherlands, wrote in Japanese, "Many of the replies are criticizing the casting of Asians in the movie as being racist, and the reasons are mainly three: 1) The name of the Chinese assistant evokes a discriminatory term; 2) Nowadays, there are no Asians with this kind of fashion; 3) The casting of Asians in U.S. movies is always like this."

"What I especially think about is 3," they continued in a follow-up post. "There's this vibe like it's okay to mock Asians a little because they don't get mad, and that's how the discrimination creeps in. Then, when we protest, they say it's just a joke, no malice intended, and refuse to apologize. That's exactly what's showing up in the casting, right? I was so looking forward to it, and now I'm totally bummed out."

Another user wrote of the movie, "The promotion up to this point was really great, but right before release, they suddenly hit us with blatant anti-Asian racism and flipped the car."

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A Korean user added, "All the East Asians are fucking 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."

Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and Stanley Tucci in 'The Devil Wears Prada 2'Credit: 20th Century Studios

Another user based in Korea wrote, "Child-like dress, glasses, overqualified, Ivy League credentials, and at top of her game yet obsequious and insecure of her competency: These are not Asian American stereotypes, they're white women's fantasies."

Media outlets in some Asian countries reported on the backlash and calls for a boycott of the film. Hong Kong's English-language South China Morning Post shared an article from their reporter based in Beijing. Japan's The Sankei Shinbum and South Korea's The Chosun Daily, Korea JoonAng Daily, and The Korea Times have also reported on it.

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Korean American filmmaker Joseph Kahn pushed back on the criticism, agreeing with some of it but making a different claim about the character.

"There's an uproar with Japanese Twitter about this Asian character. They feel she's a caricature, which she is, but not about Asians, but Gen Z," Kahn wrote. "Her outfit is actually very couture in a film about fashion. Her glasses and hair clips are of the moment. The body shape disparity comes from Anne Hathaway, who mandated there would be 'diversity of sizes,' which could either be taken as genuine virtue signaling or an actress wanting to be the skinniest and tallest on screen."

Kahn continued, "Nevertheless, the Asian character is being depicted as a fashionable striver in the fashion world with typical Gen Z neurodivergency. Nerds don't exist in Gen Z because they're all awkward freaks and all dress like Nintendo cartoons. Anyway, Japan, welcome to America."

A user based in Japan echoed Kahn's remarks, writing, "There are people making a fuss about this new promo being anti-Asian discrimination, but this girl is literally the spitting image of the awkward Andrea from the beginning of the first movie, right? Instead of judging based on just a snippet, maybe it's fine to watch and see whether this girl becomes the second Andrea, or ends up as just a minor side character."

Neither the studio behind the movie, 20th Century Studios, nor the film's cast have responded to the criticism.

Representatives for Disney, which owns 20th Century Studios, and a representative for Shen did not immediately respond to Entertainment Weekly's request for comment.

The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theaters May 1.

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