Bruce Lee's daughter, Shannon Lee, has lashed out at Quentin Tarantino, and other "white men in Hollywood," for how they have portrayed, spoken about, and dismissed the late actor.
"I’m really f***ing tired of white men in Hollywood trying to tell me who Bruce Lee was," Shannon Lee wrote in a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter. Her statement came in response to comments Tarantino made on Joe Rogan's podcast in defense of his depiction of Bruce Lee in the film "Once Upon a Time ... In Hollywood."
"I can understand his daughter having a problem with it, it’s her f***ing father! I get that. But anybody else? Go suck a d**k," the director said.
In her column, Shannon Lee wondered why Tarantino acted like he knew her father "and hated him."
"As you already know, the portrayal of Bruce Lee in 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' by Mr. Tarantino, in my opinion, was inaccurate and unnecessary to say the least. (Please let’s not blame actor Mike Moh. He did what he could with what he was given.)" she wrote.
Shannon Lee went on to criticize "white men in Hollywood" who have said that Bruce Lee was "arrogant and an a**hole" despite not knowing "what it might have taken to get work in 1960s and ’70s Hollywood as a Chinese man with (God forbid) an accent, or to try to express an opinion on a set as a perceived foreigner and person of color."
She then slammed "white men in Holywood" who mistook her father's "confidence, passion and skill for hubris and therefore finding it necessary to marginalize him and his contributions," as well as "white men in Hollywood" who said Bruce Lee wasn’t really a martial artist "and just did it for the movies."
"I’m tired of white men in Hollywood barely footnoting the impact he had on the action film genre and fight choreography, or the proliferation of and interest in martial arts he sparked globally, or the number of people and communities he continues to inspire and touch with his performances, philosophies, teachings and practices while casually downplaying how his accomplishments have lifted spirits and become a source of pride for Asian Americans, communities of color and people around the world, and how he accomplished all of this by the age of 32," she continued.
"And of course, this doesn’t apply to all white men in Hollywood; I’ve worked with some really wonderful collaborators and partners," Shannon Lee added. However, she noted that there were enough of those men who had crossed her path that wanted to "mansplain" Bruce Lee and use Bruce Lee "when and how it suits them without acknowledging his humanity, his legacy, or his family in the process."
"I’m also not saying that no one is allowed to have a negative opinion of Bruce Lee. I’m saying your opinion might be colored by personal or cultural bias, and that there’s a pattern," she added. "Just notice the pattern in all the people Mr. Tarantino cites in the case he builds against my father. Just saying..."
Related Stories:
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.