Is it fair for Simu Liu to be criticizing the company that's "transformed" boba?

Question

On an episode of the Canadian show, "Dragon's Den", actor Simu Liu criticizes the two business owners of the brand, "Bobba" for cultural appropriation as they had claimed to "transform" the traditionally Taiwanese drink.

Comments

The source that this article is from is a very credible source. I also think that this claim can't be false or true because it is opinion based in asking if Simu Liu was being fair in criticizing the company. However it is true that he in fact criticized the company on the show for saying that they are transforming a drink that is inbended in asian culture and in fact not chaning the ingridents to the drink or talking about the culture behind it.

Answer 1

I believe Simu Liu is justified in criticizing the company. The founders of the brand claimed to have transformed a drink that has existed since the 1980s, but they really didn’t change the ingredients of this already popular beverage. I also appreciate that the author of the article is Asian, allowing her voice to be heard in this important discussion.

Comments

Do you have source links for your information (re: The founders of the brand claimed to have transformed a drink that has existed since the 1980s, but they really didn’t change the ingredients of this already popular beverage)? Always include them. Thanks!

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I understand the opinion you're forming here, and i can agree that Simu Liu has the right to criticize this brand. However, I would appreciate if you had added some sources to back up your claim, or prove how the company is not exactly changing the boba game like they claim, like so. https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/13/entertainment/simu-liu-dragons-den-bubble-tea/index.html, or https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wp0175w9xo.

Answer 2

Although this is opinion based, I believe the claim to be true, that Simu Liu is right to be criticizing Bobba (the aforementioned company) attempting to "transform" boba. But, a lot of the public seems to agree. According to the Washington Post, many people were in uproar about the episode, "The episode triggered a wave of criticism on social media, with many viewers angered by the Bobba founders as well as the supportive Dragons.". So, it appears that many people believe that Simu Liu was justified in his criticism of the brand. 

From NBC and through a quote, Bobba claims that they “transformed this beloved beverage into a convenient, healthier, ready-to-drink experience,” listing only three ingredients: high-quality tea, fruit juice and Bobba’s “famous” bobbing boba. I believe this claim of "transforming" boba into something better is one of the reasons why many people are upset. To say that boba is inconvenient and not healthy, in my opinion, is false. Boba is very simple to make, with this recipe using only 6 ingredients: brown sugar, water, tapioca starch, black tea bags, milk, and ice. 

The last thing that angered many people is the cultural appropriation of the drink. There appears to be no homage to the cultural background of the drink, with CNN using a quote from Liu,“There’s an issue of taking something that’s very distinctly Asian in its identity and ‘making it better,’ which I have an issue with,” Liu said.". NBC said that "Bobba, according to Fiset, “took the version, the Asian version, and we made it with fruit, with juice.” But popping boba, a type of topping that bursts with fruit juice when it’s squeezed, has already been a popular choice on traditional Asian bubble tea menus for years — even if boba is often associated with squishy tapioca pearls.". 

Overall, I feel like Liu was justified in his criticism of the brand, and it appears that many people on social media and the internet feel the same way. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/simu-liu-criticizes-bobba-cultural-appropriation-rcna175209 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/10/13/entertainment/simu-liu-dragons-den-bubble-tea/index.html 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2024/10/14/simu-liu-boba-tea-appropriation/