(Kuwait Times) A Hong Kong television show has ignited anger over a Filipina character played by a local actress who darkened her skin, in the latest incident of “brownface” in Asia. Broadcaster TVB cast Canadian-Hong Konger Franchesca Wong to play a Filipina domestic worker for its series “Barrack O’Karma 2” which, despite its name, is a suspense thriller series and not about US politics. Wong appears in the show with visibly darker skin and a clip posted by a colleague on Instagram showed her applying make-up to her legs. “I am transforming into another person,” Wong said in the video, affecting a Filipino accent. “I am sun-tanning right now,” she added. Local media reviews this week of Wong’s portrayal have been largely favorable and skipped discussion of race.
But the decision to darken her skin—and the casting choice itself—have sparked criticism, particularly among the city’s Filipino population. “I don’t think it’s appropriate that she had to darken her skin for the role,” Sabrina Man, a Chinese-Filipino former actress working in Hong Kong as a model, told AFP. “Domestic workers have done so much for Hong Kong, and I think it’s disrespectful to them and to Filipinos in general to do this,” she added. “It wouldn’t have been difficult to look for someone with Filipino heritage to play the role,” she said… Read More
