The conversation around ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2‘ has taken a turn for the worse just days before its release, and not for the reasons the makers hoped.
A newly released teaser featuring a fresh character, Jin Chao, has triggered strong reactions online. Now, many viewers are accusing the film of falling back on outdated and offensive Asian stereotypes.
‘The Devil Wears Prada 2’ Teaser Clip Quickly Goes Viral Online
The sequel ‘The Devil Wears Prada 2‘ reunites major stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt. However, the spotlight has shifted to a new character, Jin Chao, played by Helen J. Shen.
In the teaser, Hathaway’s Andy Sachs has returned to Runway magazine as a features editor. She meets her new assistant, Jin Chao, for the first time. Things get awkward as Jin misreads Andy’s hesitation and quickly starts defending her position.
She says, “If you don’t want me, you can interview someone else. That’s totally fine,” before listing her achievements. She adds, “I did go to Yale, 3.86 GPA, lead soprano of the [Yale singing group] the Whiffenpoofs, and my ACT score was 36 on the very first time.“
The clip quickly gained attention and crossed more than 26 million views on X. But instead of building excitement, it led to criticism. Many viewers felt that Jin’s nervous behavior, her strong academic background, and her styling came across as a stereotype.
Viewers Across Asia Criticize Typical Name Styling And Character Traits
The backlash spread across countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and Hong Kong. Many users focused on how Jin Chao’s name was pronounced in the teaser. Some pointed out that it sounded similar to a racist term once used to mock Chinese people.
A user based in France wrote in Chinese, “I don’t quite get how the name Zhao Jin ends up being pronounced as ‘Chin Chou.’ It’s 2026 already, and we’re still flip-flopping back and forth on racial discrimination issues; I just can’t wrap my head around it either.” Another user in Japan shared a similar concern, writing, “It feels like the way Asians are portrayed in Hollywood movies from 20 years ago.“
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Some viewers explained their concerns in more detail. A user from the Netherlands said, “Many of the replies are criticizing the casting of Asians in the movie as being racist. And the reasons are mainly three: 1) The name of the Chinese assistant evokes a discriminatory term. 2) Nowadays, there are no Asians with this kind of fashion. 3) The casting of Asians in U.S. movies is always like this. There’s this vibe like it’s okay to mock Asians a little because they don’t get mad, and that’s how the discrimination creeps in.”
Reactions became more intense as the debate continued. One user wrote, “The promotion up to this point was really great, but right before release, they suddenly hit us with blatant anti-Asian racism and flipped the car.” A Korean user said, “All the East Asians are f***ing pissed off.” While another added, “Child-like dress, glasses, overqualified, Ivy League credentials.”
Not everyone agreed with the criticism, though. Korean American filmmaker Joseph Kahn acknowledged that the character might come across as exaggerated but argued that the portrayal reflects Gen Z traits rather than Asian stereotypes.
Kahn also suggested that the character represents a “fashionable striver” with typical Gen Z quirks. He even linked the body type contrast in the film to Hathaway’s alleged preference for “diversity of sizes,” though he noted that interpretation could vary. Despite the growing controversy, neither 20th Century Studios nor the cast has responded publicly.
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