Donnie Yen Calls Out Tarantino Over ‘Cartoonish’ Depiction of Bruce Lee

Donnie Yen had some things to say about how Quentin Tarantino handled Bruce Lee’s portrayal in one of his movies — and they were not pretty.

The John Wick: Chapter 4 star commented in a recent interview with Variety about the late martial arts master’s portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in which he was painted as a pompous actor on set. Lee was played by Mike Moh in the 2019 film.

“Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Quentin Tarantino is a renowned filmmaker, and he is entitled to his status — and I’m entitled to state my own view,” Yen said. “Obviously, he was making fun of Bruce. It was cartoonish.”

Back in 2021, Lee’s daughter Shannon Lee spoke out on her father’s controversial portrayal following Tarantino’s guest appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience to promote the novelization of the film, saying she was extremely fed up with how Tarantino and other white male directors treated him when he was alive.

She went so far as to write a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter about the director’s comments regarding the criticism he received over his caricature of Lee in the film — specifically the scene in which stuntman Cliff Booth (played by Brad Pitt) knocked him out over claims he could beat Muhammad Ali in a fight — saying it was “inaccurate and unnecessary.”

“And while I am grateful that Mr. Tarantino has so generously acknowledged to Joe Rogan that I may have my feelings about his portrayal of my father, I am also grateful for the opportunity to express this: I’m really f****** tired of white men in Hollywood trying to tell me who Bruce Lee was,” she wrote at the time.

Two years before her column was published, Shannon filed a complaint to the China Film Administration to alter her father’s portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood prior to its release in the country. China ultimately pulled the film’s originally planned Oct. 25, 2019 release after Tarantino refused to remove the scene.

Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.