Sequel to hit Hollywood film accused of using ‘racist’ name reminiscent of xenophobic Western tropes of earlier times
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenFran Luin BeijingPublished: 6:10pm, 22 Apr 2026Updated: 6:14pm, 22 Apr 2026The Hollywood film The Devil Wears Prada 2 is facing accusations of racism in China after it released a clip that shows a nerdy Asian character with a name that allegedly sounds similar to the derogatory “Ching Chong”.
In the clip posted by a Chinese influencer, an Asian assistant character introduces herself as “Jin Chao”, which many online observers believed to sound like “Ching Chong”, a derogatory racist slur used to mock the Chinese language and people.
The character’s name, Jin Chao, was mistakenly referred to as “Chin Chou” in a widely circulated hearsay on social media, a variation that unfortunately sounds even more similar to the racial slur “Ching Chong.”
The offensive phrase circulated in the US amid an anti-Asian, xenophobic sentiment in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Also, some people on Chinese social media expressed disappointment with the character’s nerdy image.
