Actor Simu Liu, who played one of many Kens in the Barbie movie, will host the People’s Choice Awards in Santa Monica, California, on Sunday.
Liu is up for a movie performance of the year award in the annual event that’s akin to a popularity contest, where public votes determine the winners.
The host told USA Today he plans to “punch up” with his jokes and not slander anyone. That extends especially to pop superstar Taylor Swift after a quip at her expense by Golden Globe’s host Jo Koy fell flat. Liu, who told Variety he’s a “Swiftie,” guaranteed in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “there will be no Taylor slander.”
Liu also teased a possible Barbie reunion at the show, where his co-stars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling are also up for awards, telling E! News: “I would wager that we’ll see a couple people from the movie. I wanna leave a little bit to surprise as well.” Robbie and Gosling, however, will not be in attendance due to the BAFTAs in London falling on the same day.
Here’s everything you need to know about Liu.
Simu Liu opened up about his childhood in his 2022 book
The 34-year-old was born in Harbin, China, and initially raised by his grandparents as his mother worked in Beijing and his father immigrated to the U.S. and then Canada, where his parents brought Liu to join them when he was four and a half years old. Liu recounted his background and upbringing in his 2022 memoir We Were Dreamers: An Immigrant Superhero Origin Story.
Liu grew up in Mississauga, Ontario, where his parents became successful aerospace engineers. In his memoir, Liu wrote he played the perfect child––getting straight A’s, winning national math competitions, and making his parents proud. According to a 2022 interview and book review with The Guardian, Liu felt “guilty and very worthless” when growing up, due to pressures enforced on him by his parents. The Guardian reported he had a good relationship with his parents by the khbrknews the book came…
