Agents of SHIELD star says she changed her last name because 'Hollywood is racist'

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Marvel's Agents of SHIELD star Chloe Bennet defended her last name change after a fan questioned her about it on social media this week, saying that the cause was Hollywood racism.

"Changing my last name doesn't change the fact that my BLOOD is half Chinese, that I lived in China, speak Mandarin or that I was culturally raised both American and Chinese," she wrote. "It means I had to pay my rent, and Hollywood is racist and wouldn't cast me with a last name that made them uncomfortable."

Chloe Bennet attends Variety Power Of Young Hollywood at TAO Hollywood in August, 2017. Image: Getty

Chloe, whose birth name is Chloe Wang, posted a statement to her Instagram account in support of Ed Skrein's recent stepping down from his Hellboy role after being hit with accusations of whitewashing, as the original character he was set to play was of mixed Asian heritage.

The actress has spoken out about her name change before.

"Oh, the first audition I went on after I changed my name, I got booked," Chloe told the Daily Beast last year. "So that's a pretty clear little snippet of how Hollywood works."

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