Henry Golding defended 'The Gentlemen' after critics accused it of gratuitous racism

• Henry Golding has defended Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen" against accusations of racism.
• The movie, which came out earlier this year, was called "possibly anti-Semitic and maybe a little racist" in TIME magazine's review while Vulture pointed out its "antiquated Asian jokes."
• In an interview with NME, Golding said: "If you think gangsters aren't going to be racist and go down to the lowest derogatory terminologies, I don't know what kind of world you live in."
• "I felt as an Asian and as a man, those boundaries were never stepped over and it was always a safe set," Golding said.

Henry Golding has responded to accusations of racism against Guy Ritchie's "The Gentlemen," which Golding starred in earlier this year alongside Hugh Grant, Charlie Hunnam, and Matthew McConaughey.

The potential James Bond actor played the villainous Dry Eye in Ritchie's expletive-laden gangster film, which included jokes about people of color, Jewish people, and gay people.

However, Golding told NME that he doesn't believe Ritchie's film is problematic — saying the language used suited the characters and environment of the story.

"If you think gangsters aren't going to be racist and go down to the lowest derogatory terminologies, I don't know what kind of world you live in," Golding said.

"In this day and age of being PC, do you think that restricts art or creation? Because we have to pander to people who perhaps don't want racist words to be on screen or projected from someone's mouth; but in reality, it's what happens. Are gangsters going to be nice to each other just because they don't want to hurt each other's feelings? I don't think so."

TIME magazine's review of the movie called it "possibly anti-Semitic and maybe a little racist," and wrote that "some of the gags still leave a bitter aftertaste."

Meanwhile, Vulture wrote: "'The Gentlemen' lobs antiquated Asian jokes at Dry Eye and his compatriots with the dedication of a canceled stand-up comic on a Yondr-guarded comeback tour."

In one instance, Hugh Grant's Fletcher calls Dry Eye a "Chinese James Bond" and then puts on a mock Chinese accent, while there are repeated gags about an Asian gangster named Phuc. In another, Colin Farrell's Coach explains to Bugzy Malone's Ernie that being called a "Black c---" isn't offensive, saying it was "a term of familiar affection."

However, Golding said that there were boundaries in the movie, and there are boundaries when it comes to using that sort of language, but he never felt they were crossed.

Golding said: "I felt as an Asian and as a man, those boundaries were never stepped over and it was always a safe set. If there is ever a time there isn't a safe set, you know, the hand goes up and a discussion is made."

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