Simu Liu is defending his decision to delete old tweets criticizing Mark Wahlberg for trying to get his past hate crimes pardoned and wiped from his criminal record. The Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor has just signed to star alongside Wahlberg in Arthur the King. In 1988, Wahlberg was convicted of assaulting two Vietnamese men, one of which was beat unconscious. According to police reports, Wahlberg was also yelling racial slurs at the men.

In 2014, Mark Wahlberg attempted to get his past hate crimes pardoned. Wahlberg was charged with attempted murder, but pleaded guilty to felony assault, claiming that he was high on PCP at the time and that the attacks weren't race related. There are two separate cases from 1985 where the actor was charged with violating the civil rights of his victims. In 2014, Simu Liu had this to say about Wahlberg's actions.

"Let me get this straight, Mark Wahlberg beat a helpless Vietnamese man with a stick until he passed out when he was 16, and is attempting to get the courts to grant him an official pardon on the basis that he's 'turned his life around'?"

Fast forward to 2020, and Simu Liu is going to star in a movie with Mark Wahlberg, which made him delete his past tweets criticizing his upcoming co-star. The actor is seeing some blowback of his own on social media for defending his decision to delete said tweets. As of now, Liu is looking at this as a moment to move forward and have positive discussions. He explains.

"I deleted a couple of tweets I made regarding the past actions of one of my costars as a gesture of professionalism and to open the door to progressive conversations and (hopefully) positive change. Obviously it'd be pretty weird to go to work with that tweet still up. I meant what I said in the moment; I was very angry hearing about what happened. But that doesn't mean I don't think there's room to grow and work together to find an opportunity to educate and do some good, which I'm excited to do in addition to shooting the movie. Progressive discussion will lead to dialogue, and dialogue will lead to action."

In addition to looking forward to a positive dialogue, The Shang-Chi star also believes that Arthur the King is an important role for him to take on. He says he is "playing a character that is undoubtedly a positive representation of an Asian man," adding, "I signed on to Arthur the King because I absolutely adored the script, which tells the beautiful story of how a dog changed the lives of four adventure racers in the forests of Ecuador." Liu went on to say that the script "hit me straight in the feels. I was and am very passionate about bringing this story to the screen." The movie is believed to be animated, which woudn't put Simu Liu and Mark Wahlberg on scree together, only their voices.

Mark Wahlberg was never offered a pardon for his hate crimes. "I am deeply sorry for the actions that I took on the night of April 8, 1988, as well as for any lasting damage that I may have caused the victims," Wahlberg wrote in his pardon application. He even met with one of the men that he assaulted, Johnny Trinh. "He was young and reckless but I forgive him now. Everyone deserves another chance. I would like to see him get a pardon. He should not have the crime hanging over him any longer," Trinh said. In 2020, Wahlberg regretted trying to have his criminal record wiped from the books. You can check out Simu Liu's full Instagram statement, above.