Ed Skrein Steps Down From Hellboy Role After Whitewashing Outcry

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Last week, Ed Skrein made waves with the news that he was cast as Ben Daimio, a Japanese American character in Hellboy: Rise of the Blood Queen. This caused a considerable backlash, especially from the Asian American community in Hollywood, as it represented another whitewashing of an Asian character.

It seems that Skrein took these criticisms to heart, as he announced via Twitter today that he will step down from the role:

pic.twitter.com/8WoSsHXDFO
— Ed Skrein (@edskrein) August 28, 2017

This is a classy response. Forgoing this role and taking himself out of a project he clearly would’ve liked to be a part of takes some fortitude, so good for Ed Skrein. Hopefully he finds a better role for his talents, and hopefully the Hellboy producers get the message, too.