Chinese actress Liu Yifei (刘亦菲, or Crystal Liu) will play the title role in a live-action remake of Disney’s legendary Mulan, winning the applause of many after repeated controversies over “whitewashing”.
In a Weibo post on 30 November, Liu expressed gratefulness for being given the chance by Disney, which she misspelt as “Dsiney”. The mistake was soon spotted by the Chinese media and netizens, and became a tease online, admists the excitement and anticipation her fans had been showing.
According to 163 New, a leading Chinese news media, it took Liu quite a while to delete the post.
Soon, related news had since been taken down. The comical mistake had remained in netizens memory, however.
It is known that Liu speaks fluent English and has spent part of her adolescence in New York City. It was speculated that the mistake was not caused by herself.
Despite the mistake, netizens across the world had widely praised on social media about her attractive appearance, as well as her fitness to the role of Mulan.
Liu was known to be picked to star in the film after a worldwide search that screened nearly 1,000 candidates. The 30-year-old actor has appeared in more than a dozen films in China.
The upcoming film is directed by New Zealander Niki Caro. Mulan is a story of a woman disguising herself as a man to fight against an invading army, saving her ageing father from conscription.
