Bruce Lee’s daughter has condemned Quentin Tarantino for his “irresponsible” and “belittling” portrayal of her father in his new movie.
Shannon Lee said the director was not concerned with portraying the martial arts star as he really was in Once Upon A Time … In Hollywood.
In the film, her father is played by actor Mike Moh and a scene in which he fights Brad Pitt’s fictional stuntman Cliff Booth has sparked controversy.
Lee told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I think he (Tarantino) was very irresponsible. I think that he created a view of him that was a caricature.
“He wants to say ‘Oh, this was a fact, this is what he was like, but this is a fiction movie, so don’t bother yourself too much about it’.”
She added: “My father is very beloved by many, many people. He was really a big symbol for many Asian men and Asian-American men in particular.
“He has fans all around the world who not only think he’s awesome, but are inspired by him. He was a man of depth and he was a man of great character.
“(People) mistook his confidence, which he had in spades, as arrogance, in particular if they were white men in Hollywood or in the martial arts or something like that…”
She added of Tarantino: “He could have handled it in a way that was respectful of my father as well as served his story purposes.
“For a lot of people this is going to be their first introduction to Bruce Lee, in particular younger generations. They’re going to think this is what he is – that he was this arrogant guy that liked to challenge people.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. I’ve dedicated my life to furthering his legacy, primarily and specifically because his philosophy and the way he lived his life has inspired me to live my life in a better way. That’s the message I’m always trying to get out to everybody.
“I think the portrayal of him in Quentin Tarantino’s film is him being treated the way he was treated by Hollywood back in the time when he was trying to make accurate representations of Asian men in film. He was not treated respectfully.
“The way that he’s portrayed by Quentin Tarantino in the filmis exactly in that way, sort of belittling him.”