Shang-Chi actor Simu Liu responded to a slew of resurfaced Reddit comments where he penned a “sympathetic post towards pedophiles.”
Liu took to Twitter where he responded to a thread he created back in April 2019.
At the time he wrote, “Just a reminder that I do not EVER advocate for anything other than positivity. Positive cultural pride, positive iterations of Asian masculinity and femininity – that means WE DON’T PUT EACH OTHER DOWN. Direct your frustration at the system that did this to ALL of us.”
In a subsequent tweet he added, “DISCLAIMER: If you dig back far enough, I’m sure you’ll find a more immature version of me who gave in to anger and hate. It doesn’t make me a hypocrite; it makes me a human being. Mentalities evolve. We shift and we grow. And I want us all to grow the right way.”
Liu has now added to the thread, tweeting, “Oh cool this is here.”
He would also respond to a user who has since deleted their comment writing, “Twitter is a slanderous place sometimes, and it feels good to shut down trolls and bad faith actors who want to drag your name through the mud.”
This new response is to resurfaced Reddit comments that he made under the user name /u/nippedinthebud. Liu has since deleted the account.
In an archive of /u/nippedinthebud’s comments, the user confirms they are Simu Liu multiple times.
In one post from October 2019, in the KimsConvenience subreddit, the user writes, “Hey man, Simu here. Thanks so much for sharing your story, and I’m so sorry to hear about Widdle. My husky/malamute Barkley is 11 right now and every day he loses a bit of spring in his step (arthritis in his hind legs and just overall being a massive dog).”
In another post from October 2018 in the toronto subreddit, he wrote, “Hey it’s Simu. Well that’s really unfortunate… well I guess you can’t be on everyone’s good books.”
In a post in acting subreddit from September 2018, the user again confirmed he was Simu Liu and encouraged people to follow him on Instagram and Twitter.
He wrote, “Hey man! Pretty crazy; the show is international on Netflix, we have amazing incredible fans all over the world and I’m making money doing the thing I love the most.”
He added, “Right now I’ve got managers and reps that handle me in the US and Canada, I stay pretty busy and I get recognized on the street pretty much every day. Shameless plug, you can follow me on twitter and insta at @simuliu and the show I’m on is called Kim’s Convenience!”
In a post to the KimsConvenience subreddit in March 2019, the user confirmed that he is Simu Liu, where he did a psuedo-AMA.
He wrote, “Hey guys it’s Simu aka nippedinthebud aka ultimate Reddit lurker! With just a couple episodes to premiere.”
“I’m down to answer any questions y’all may have in the comments; just know that I’m limited by my position in what I can and can’t talk about so this is not an AMA :P.”
It seems pretty clear that /u/nippedinthebud is indeed Simu Liu. With that noted, Liu penned a “sympathetic post towards pedophiles” back in 2015.
In the WorldNews subreddit Liu would respond to a BBC article shared in the subreddit with a user submitted headline that reads, “Germany encourages pedophiles to sign up for confidential treatment, even if they have abused a child, and doctors are hailing it as a success.”
Liu submitted a lengthy response stating, “I recently did a show in which I played a pedophile, and did a significant amount of research (clinical studies mind you, not the ‘method’ stuff) on the disorder and how it’s perceived in the media. In the end the role completely changed the way I look at pedophilia and has made me much more sympathetic to anyone who is born with those urges.”
He then noted, “From a biological standpoint it’s no different than being gay – a small mutation in the genome that defines our sexual preferences. Depending on what area of the world you were born and what time, it also may have been a perfectly acceptable thing to act on those urges.”
“Now, we all know that taking advantage of minors is wrong. Disgusting and vile, even. But with the exception of Germany we are going about it completely COMPLETELY the wrong way. It’s like we having learned anything by studying homosexuality – we’re talking about exploring the same “cures” to pedophilia as we were about homosexuality 20 years ago, a la conversion therapy and whatnot,” Liu wrote.
The actor then stated, “As a part of my research I discovered that these people have literally nowhere to turn, even non-offending pedophiles. They cannot seek treatment in most parts of the word because the therapist or psychiatrist would be legally required to report any individuals they suspected would pose a threat to minors.”
Liu continued, “On message boards and social media I see the same defence time and time again – ‘what if it was your daughter?’ Well, I take their point but would like to ask, ‘what if it was your child who came to you and confessed to being a pedophile?’
“The study I read suggested that as many as 1% of the population may have some degree of pedophilic tendencies. If this is true, I certainly hope that the rest of the world follows Germany’s lead,” said Liu.
He then provided a TLDR, “TL;DR: Actor played a pedophile for a TV show, did research, discovered being a pedophile not so different from being gay. Everyone deserves sympathy. Not black-and-white.”
In an edit to the post he added, “EDIT: So my first gold was a sympathetic post towards pedophiles, AMAZING! Thank you for the gold. Honestly, it goes to show that Reddit is capable of tremendous compassion. To everyone who came forward in the thread, I admire your courage and I wish you the best. I’m in no position to provide any guidance or advice of any sort, but I encourage you to read this article I stumbled upon while doing research for my role.”
He then shared a Medium article by Luke Malone titled, “You’re 16. You’re a Pedophile. You Don’t Want to Hurt Anyone. What Do You Do Now?”
Finally he concluded the post writing, “To people downvoting, I encourage you to participate in the discussion instead of simply clicking a button. I hope you remember downvotes should only be given for comments that don’t contribute to the discussion, and you shouldn’t use it as a means to voice your disagreement.”
Liu would continue to engage in the forum. In response to another user who admitted to having “pedophilic urges,” he wrote, “Hey – done a fair amount of research for a role that I did (I’m an actor. No, not Kevin Bacon haha) and I wanted to provide any assistance if I can.”
“What we currently know about the disorder is this – like homosexuality, it exists on a spectrum. For example, we all know that the whole “barely legal” subgenre of adult entertainment is HUGE. Anybody who jerks off to pictures of an 18 y/o and turns around and says all pedophiles ought to be killed is a fucking hypocrite IMO,” he wrote.
Liu then added, “But I digress; from what you’ve typed here it seems that you have a mild preference and you are able to be satisfied with adults. Some people with the disorder find themselves ONLY attracted to children, and that could be potentially problematic especially in a society where there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY TO GET HELP.
He then encouraged the user stating, “Please continue to talk/write using throwaways and please avoid child pornography – it may seem innocent but even watching it is propogating the entire industry which I’m sure you agree is disgusting. Plus the consequences you face if caught are life-changing; worse than death if you ask me.”
“You have a good head on your shoulders – I wish you the best and I know you will not make any decisions you will regret,” he concluded.
He would also respond to user prearpotato, who wrote, “If only someone helped their victims just as much. But who cares about them if there are poor sad little pedos to treat.”
Liu replied, “Helpful comment dude. Maybe realize that this is all taking steps towards addressing the issue of child abuse? Does it not occur to you that this could drastically reduce sexual abuse with children instead of simply reacting?”
Another user, who has since deleted their account, wrote, “Reading through the comments, I feel I have to say something. Has our society gotten to the point where people cannot hold themselves accountable to know the difference between right and wrong, and control their actions accordingly? Of course, people cannot choose their sexual preferences, but this is not the same as homosexuality, not even close.”
The user continued, “We’re talking about something that is not only rightfully illegal, but also immoral and reprehensible to even consider. If it requires treatment for someone to avoid acting on their urges as a pedophile, maybe that person is not suited to be part of a society. I cannot get behind the idea that we should emphasize with someone who cannot control their urge to do something illegal and disgusting, like sexual contact with a child, and provide professional help to them.”
“I’m not buying that these people are victims of a condition and need help. Everyone should be held responsible for their actions. It’s ridiculous to suggest people who cannot control their sexual urges, even though they know they’re wrong, should have some sort preventative treatment. Grow the f*** up, and control yourself. Know the difference between right and wrong, and be responsible for your actions,” the user concluded.
Liu responded writing, “Imagine living in a society where it’s completely immoral to have sex with a consenting adult woman. I would imagine without a single person to talk to about it, you get a lot of self-hate mixed in with sexual repression.”
“Even if you haven’t done acted on those urges at all because you “know it’s wrong”, you might appreciate actually having someone to talk to and be honest with. And I think that’s the point of the therapy/counselling more than helping those who have offended in the past – I would wager there are far more non-offending pedophiles living in the world,” he added.
Reddit user A419a would respond to Liu’s initial post. The user wrote, “We know taking advantage of children is wrong? Oh you mean sexually. Child (slave) labor used to make cheaper goods is still perfectly acceptable. :)”
Liu responded, “And depending on where you live in the world, sexual relations with children isn’t even illegal. It’s weird how we’ve latched on to this narrative of morality and right vs. wrong, when we’ve only recently decided that it was wrong to begin with. Just two cents.”
In response to a deleted comment, Liu wrote, “Sorry I get that that’s a pretty weird statement out of context, forgive the TL;DR. I think the basic argument still stands – it’s not a choice so much as something you’re born with.”
Liu’s final comment on the thread was in response to User gilfpound69. That user wrote, “it may be more than 1%. i’d like to know how many of us there are and how we vary and what not…. how would we know at this point…?”
Liu answered, “The research exists, and the variance is actually huge. Some are selectively attracted to children, some are attracted to both adults and children, some only young, some only teens, boys and/or girls, etc.”
What do you make of Liu’s response to these resurfaced comments? What do you make of his comments?