KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 — Acclaimed director Steven Spielberg has come under fire for comments he made about the South Korean cast of Netflix’s series Squid Game.

The 75-year-old made the comments at the Producers Guild of America Awards recently where he applauded the streaming service for awarding unknown actors the opportunity to helm projects, New York Post reported.

“A long time ago, it was domestic stars that brought the audience into movies,” Spielberg reportedly said. 

“Today, it’s interesting, unknown people can star [in] entire miniseries, can be in movies,” he added.

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“Squid Game comes along and changes the math entirely for all of us,” the filmmaker added before directing his attention to Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos. 

“Thank you, Ted.”

Following his comments, Spielberg was roasted on social media, with some pointing out that the show’s stars have been in the South Korean entertainment industry for quite some time.

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The show’s lead, Lee Jung-jae, has starred in many TV series and films, such as the thriller The Housemaid, while Park Hae-soo has made a name for himself in several popular Korean TV dramas including Prison Playbook.

Twitter user @t0nygo said Spielberg is a racist. 

“He thinks that Asians are not talented and they can not exceed him.”

 

 

Meanwhile, @nancywyuen said Squid Game proves that Hollywood has been way behind in recognising and celebrating longstanding South Korean film, television storytelling and talent.

 

 

@koryodynasty tweeted that series like Squid Game illustrate that people around the world are satisfied with content other than English/white/US entertainment.