Disney Exec Reacts to Backlash Over 'Mulan' Filming Location in China

The new Disney movie Mulan has been generating backlash after it was discovered that portions of the movie were filmed in a controversial area of China.

The film’s credits include a thank you to Xinjiang authorities, including an entity that is included on the U.S. sanctions list. Uighur Muslims have been detained in mass internment camps in the Xinjiang province.

Missouri’s Republican junior senator, Josh Hawley, sent a letter to Disney condemning the company for “whitewashing the ongoing genocide of Uighurs and other Muslim ethnic minorities during the production of Mulan.”

Now, Disney’s CFO Christine McCarthy is speaking out in response to the backlash.

Click inside to find out what she said…

“I’m not a box-office prognosticator, but it has generated a lot of publicity,” Christine said while appearing at a conference this week. “Let me just put something into context. The real facts are that Mulan was primarily shot — almost in entirety — in New Zealand. In an effort to accurately depict some of the unique landscape and geography of the country of China for this period drama, we filmed scenery in 20 different locations in China. It’s common knowledge that, in order to film in China, you have to be granted permission. That permission comes from the central government.”

Deadline reports that Christine said it’s common “to acknowledge in a film’s credits the national and local governments that allowed you to film there. So, in our credits, it recognized both China and locations in New Zealand. I would just leave it at that, but it has generated a lot of issues for us.”

Yifei Liu, the actress who plays Mulan, has also been wrapped up in some controversy in regards to the movie.