Margaret Cho says Tilda Swinton shouldn't have played The Ancient One in "whitewashed" Doctor Strange. Photos / Getty Images
Margaret Cho says Tilda Swinton shouldn't have played The Ancient One in "whitewashed" Doctor Strange. Photos / Getty Images
Actress Tilda Swinton has hit back at comedian Margaret Cho's claims she tried to brush over claims of "whitewashing" of the film, Doctor Strange, releasing an email conversation between the two.
The comedian claimed the two had had "kind of a fight" over the fact that Swinton had played a character, The Ancient One - which was originally written as a Tibetan male - in the film. (The character was changed to be a Celtic woman).
The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and Doctor Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch). Photo / Marvel
Swinton reportedly started corresponding with Cho to ger her thoughts on the issue. Cho, however, was less than impressed with the conversation telling an interviewer that the exchange was less than amicable.
"Tilda eventually emailed me and said she didn't understand why people were so mad about Doctor Strange..." Cho told Bobby Lee for the podcast Tiger Belly.
"And she wanted to talk about it and wanted to get my take on why all the Asian people were mad. Long conversation, and it was so weird. We had a long discussion, and she also wanted me not to tell anybody, so don't tell anybody," Cho said. "She said, 'Don't tell anybody.'
"But it was a long, like kind of a fight, about why the part should not have gone to her, that's what I thought...We had a fight about it, and basically it ended with her saying, 'Well I'm producing a movie with Steven Yeun that's starring [the Asian-American actor].'
The Walking Dead star Steven Yeun found himself caught up in the Strange war. Photo / Frank Ockenfels/AMC
"It was weird," Cho said. "I felt like...a house Asian. I'm like her servant...sort of your confidant...like I was following her with an umbrella."
Cho continued: "I had a weird feeling about the entire exchange, especially that part of, 'Don't tell anybody,'" she said.
Swinton released the email conversation to DailyMail.com overnight, two days after the interview was posted online.
"Tilda offers you the entire unedited and only conversation she has ever had with Margaret - with her gratitude for the opportunity to clarify and with all good wishes to all," the Oscar-winner's rep wrote upon releasing the emails.
In the conversation, the two have a conversation about the controversy surrounding Swinton's casting.
Describing herself as "a fan" of Cho's, Swinton appeared keen to get the comedian's thoughts on the "diversity debate" surrounding her casting.
"I would really love to hear your thoughts and have a - private - conversation about it. Are you up for this? Can we e-mail?" she asked.
Cho responded she was happy to do so, calling herself a "big fan" of Swinton's.
"The larger part of the debate has to do with the 'whitewashing' of Asian and Asian Americans in film. Our stories are told by white actors over and over again and we feel at a loss to know how to cope with it," she wrote.
Swinton responded: "The debate is so important for all of us. It needs to build itself on strong ground."
The film, which was released in early November, also starred Benedict Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Rachel McAdams.
