Brad Pitt steps out for the LA ‘Bullet Train’ premiere amid whitewashing controversy

Last night was the big LA premiere of Bullet Train. Brad Pitt was there in his baggy green suit, with an incredibly “fresh” looking face. Aaron Taylor Johnson was there, in heels and leather (and his wife Sam wasn’t there). Brian Tyree Henry looked snazzy in a really great cream patterned coat, which was probably way too heavy for an LA premiere. Bad Bunny wore a severe black suit. Simu Liu was there with his girlfriend Jade Bender.

The only real fashion highlight (beyond Tyree Henry’s coat) was Joey King in this Cong Tri ensemble. I don’t even like this look, but I like that she’s been trying different things for this promotional tour, including really strong hair and makeup styling. The skirt is my favorite part of this whole look. Joey walked the carpet with her fiance Steven Piet.

Meanwhile, Bullet Train is currently mired in some whitewashing controversy. In the original Kōtarō Isaka story, several of the main characters are Japanese. In the film adaptation, those characters are played by white actors. Now, Isaka has also said that his characters are just that, characters and not real people, and that the casting doesn’t bother him. But obviously, Hollywood has an incredibly problematic history of whitewashing Asian and Black characters, and many of us could see this specific Bullet Train controversy coming from a mile away. The whole movie is supposed to be set in Japan on some kind of magical Japanese train where there are no Japanese people? Come on. Note: Brad Pitt didn’t actually produce Bullet Train. He was merely cast in a whitewashed film.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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39 Responses to “Brad Pitt steps out for the LA ‘Bullet Train’ premiere amid whitewashing controversy”

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  1. Southern Fried says:

    Brad looks stupid. While I enjoy men dressing non traditionally including skirts, this look is fugly, he’s dressed like a clown. Think what he missed for this promo, his eldest daughter’s important back to school events with their parents.

    • Ravensdaughter says:

      I was looking for just the right word to describe his look, and clown is definitely it.

    • Josephine says:

      I think with pants that fit it might be fun and interesting. I love the colors. He seems so lost without a partner to copy.

  2. Jillian says:

    Brad Pitt is such a dork, all of this is so embarrassing for him

  3. North of Boston says:

    Simu looks great.

    Brad looks … not so great, between his styling and his face he’s got a lot going on, and not much of it is good.

    His face just, IDK, it’s not that he’s aging (we all do eventually) or keeps trying to refresh his face, there’s something about his eyes, his smile, his expression that shows the life he’s lived – self-centered, some substance abuse here and there and not treating people kindly.

  4. Chaine says:

    Brad trying so hard to be young and hip with that green getup and he just looks ridiculous. Keep tightening that face, buddy, eventually you will reach full Mickey Rourke!

  5. A says:

    Comments about both Shiloh and Zahara at the premiere. Does he have a relationship with them?

  6. lucy2 says:

    I love Brian’s coat! But why is everyone dressed in coats, is it not hot in LA?
    I like the color of Brad’s green ensemble, but he looks ridiculous. Why is he wearing such big baggy stuff lately?

  7. Owlsyn says:

    Leather jacket, trench coat (although it might be a very light, unlined coat) and poor Jade Bender wearing less than 3 yards of fabric. I want to give her a hoodie.

  8. manda says:

    In regard to the whitewashing– I have not really paid much attention to this movie, but I have seen the trailer, and I did notice that it seemed like even the extras were white people. I remember wondering if it was actually supposed to take place in Japan. (All I can really remember is a white lady shushing some people on the quiet car)

    in regard to brad pitt– yuck, he is suuuch a joke now. If you think about it, he has, for the most part, been partnered up for the majority of his career, and he was always famous for morphing into a male version of his girlfriend or adopting his girlfriend’s style and interests. Now that he’s alone, and has been, it’s just so shockingly obvious he has no substance at all. I bet he’s so boring to talk to, probably really stupid too

    • Fabiola says:

      Brad Pitt is famous on his own regardless of who he is dating. He’s already an established actor. Also, I’ve never seen him and Angelina as one of those couples that coordinated their outfits. They both stood out on their own looks.

  9. Andrea1 says:

    You guys check out @people on Instagram he was asked about his daughter going to college and he was caught off guard you can see he has no relationship with his kids and that’s so sad I wonder when the media will finally call him out on his behaviors

    • Blue Nails Betty says:

      Holy moly! That video says it all.

      • Carmen says:

        God, that was painful. “How do you feel about Zahara going to Spelman?”

        “Beautiful. Amazing. Yup. Fantastic.”

        Obviously he was caught flatfooted. He didn’t have a clue and he didn’t give a damn. All he wanted to talk about was his stupid movie.

    • Chaine says:

      Super awkward, definitely seems as if he didn’t know until the reporter told him.

    • Ivy says:

      It reminds me of the video of when someone asked about Maddox duomg the oscars. I see he mustered something up to say to VF but that people’s video was rough.

  10. Elsa says:

    He does foolish. I like the outfit color. But not for him and not the red carpet.

  11. MangoAngelesque says:

    I like Brad’s sneakers. And Simu is just too pretty for words… *le sigh*

  12. Christine says:

    Was Brad styled by Krusty the Clown?

  13. Liz Version 700 says:

    Brad’s red carpet looks these days are horrible. I would side-eye someone over 17 in those pants at the mall but on a red carpet yikes?!? I wish I could be surprised that a train in Japan has no Asian folks in it per Hollywood… sigh

  14. Rice says:

    Jane Bender is such a badass name! It’s like a character from Mortal Kombat or Soul Calibur. I love it and she’s so cute.

    Brad’s stylist has to be no more than 12 years old.

  15. Marie says:

    Wow. If they had just straight remade the move as an “American” version I would say that’s ok. But they still have it set in Japan, used Japanese styling for promo…look at the step and repeat there’s a g-d Japanese vending machine in the background!! This is so obviously a horrendous case of cultural appropriation. They are using Japanese culture as a prop, a way for the majority white movie to feel “exotic.” Can’t believe this crap is still flying in 2022. I hope the creator has a good deal at least.

    • Concern Fae says:

      I wonder if it acknowledges that it couldn’t be set in America because we can’t get our act together to build bullet trains, like the rest of the world has.

  16. Another Anna says:

    He’s wearing sweatpants, right? Like, literal and actual sweatpants. This whole look is very Hungover Miami Vice. Everything about him just screams “in a spiral and not fighting it anymore.”

    And the whitewashing of this movie, oof. 1) Don’t use other cultures as props. Simple as that. Don’t use a Japanese vending machine as a backdrop for your red carpet, don’t set your movie in an iconically Japanese place and then cast basically no Japanese people, don’t use other cultures as props. 2) I want to preface this by saying that this comment isn’t about Simu Liu in particular. He didn’t do anything wrong and I’m not trying to come for him. The fact that those in charge of casting didn’t cast any Japanese actors and cast a Chinese actor (presumably because of name recognition) makes me think they were thinking “he’s Asian, that’s close enough” which is doubly messed up when you consider the history between Japan and China. Everything about this movie feels uncomfortable, up to and including Joey King’s hair.

  17. Bisynaptic says:

    Ugh.

  18. Pix says:

    Yes, he looks like a clown. His reaction to the Zahara question was so cringe. He’s a sad little man.

  19. Nuzzy says:

    It’s sad to see what happens when Brad doesn’t have a significant other’s look to copy. I thought at first it was just mimicking their hair, but now that he’s untethered, I see how much work the women in his life had to do.

  20. Katie Beanstalk says:

    I really think Brad is a leprechaun. Also is this movie worth seeing?