Some online communities in East Asia have called for a boycott against The Devil Wears Prada 2 after a promotional clip featuring a Chinese assistant character drew criticism over her name and portrayal.
The highly anticipated sequel will see the return of the core original cast, including Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, and Stanley Tucci.
The backlash centres on Qin Zhou, a character played by Chinese American actor Helen J Shen, who appears as an assistant to Andrea Sachs (Hathaway). The controversy began after 20th Century Studios uploaded a clip to its official YouTube and social media channels on Friday, prompting a flurry of reactions online.
Several people have argued that the character’s name sounds similar to a historically racist term used in the West to mock Chinese people. According to The Korea Herald, Hong Kong’s Oriental Daily News described the phrase as “a symbolic racist slur historically used in the West to ridicule Chinese immigrant workers in the 19th century,” and added that it conveys “contempt and discomfort towards Chinese accents and intonation”.
In the clip, Qin Zhou appears in a buttoned-up striped shirt and a checked skirt and rattles off her Yale education and 3.86 GPA, a look that some social media users criticised as leaning into a familiar “nerd” stereotype in a film set in the fashion industry.
The Independent has reached out to 20th Century Studios for comment. Neither the studio nor the film’s cast have yet reacted to the criticism online or in Asian media outlets.
One user wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “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.”
Another described the character as a “stereotype-riddled discrimination: an awkward Asian woman who’s a bespectacled, communication-impaired type who, upon first meeting, immediately starts bragging about her Yale degree and GPA”.
“Hollywood is so out of touch it’s embarrassing. It’s 2026 and THIS is your Asian rep? The name, styling, whole look. Lazy stereotypes,” wrote another.
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One user on Reddit said that the name sounds like Zhen Chou, which when translated means “really ugly”.
Others pointed to a contrast between the film’s marketing and its on-screen portrayal, noting that it enlisted one of South Korea’s most commercially influential K-pop stars to build buzz. Earlier this month, Vogue Korea released a video featuring Ive’s Jang Won Young with Streep and Hathaway ahead of the film’s release, as part of its Asia rollout.
“While putting Jang Won Young, who is called a ‘human doll’ and enjoys great popularity across Asia, at the forefront of promotions, the movie features an understated, stereotypical Asian character,” wrote one user, according to Star News.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 is scheduled to open in China on 1 May and will have its global premiere in South Korea on 29 April. According to Seoul Economic Daily, data from the Korean film council showed it had recorded an advance booking rate of 15.5 per cent, with at least 44,933 tickets sold.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 hits theatres worldwide on 1 May.