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Michelle Yeoh and Jackie Chan, two iconic figures from Asia, have made their mark in Hollywood with their remarkable performances. Yeoh, known for her martial arts prowess, won an Oscar for her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once and has become a prominent advocate for gender equality. However, despite her widespread success, she once publicly criticised Chan for alleged misogyny after disapproving of his views on gender roles.
In a throwback episode of The Late Show With David Letterman from 1997, Yeoh appeared to promote her James Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies. When Letterman asked if her foray into action was inspired by Chan, she responded, “No, actually, he is a male chauvinistic pig. He always believes that women should stay at home and cook and not do anything and be the victim.”
Yeoh further explained that Jackie Chan didn’t see her as one of the stereotypical women in the industry because she could challenge him both verbally and physically. Her comments were praised by viewers as bold and empowering, especially regarding women’s liberation. The actress has consistently been vocal against the stereotypical roles written for women and has strongly advocated for a change in how female characters are portrayed on screen.
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Despite Yeoh’s critical remarks about Chan, the two share an interesting history. They first crossed paths in 1985 when they were cast together in a television advertisement in Hong Kong. Subsequently, they collaborated on the action-comedy Twinkle, Twinkle, and Lucky Stars in 1985 and starred in several other projects together, including Kung Fu Panda and Police Story 3: Supercop. In an interview with The Guardian, Yeoh recalled the challenges of performing stunts, saying, “If you jumped off something, you were lucky if you had mattresses and some cardboard boxes [to break your fall]. All the wire work was done on wires thin enough that you couldn’t see with the naked eye because we didn’t have CGI; we couldn’t erase them afterwards.”
Surprisingly, Yeoh also revealed in a throwback interview on The Graham Norton Show that her role in Everything Everywhere All at Once was initially offered to Chan, with Yeoh set to portray his wife in the film. She shared, “They did go to China to meet with Jackie, and he [Jackie] texted me and said, ‘Congratulations on your movie, but did you know your boys came to see me first?’ And I’m like, ‘Your loss, bro.’”
Despite the banter, the Crazy Rich Asians star and Chan remain great friends.
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