On Thursday, Marvel held a panel at San Diego Comic-Con to preview the new season of Netflix's Iron Fist.
View this video on YouTube
The panel was introduced by Jeph Loeb, television and comic book writer and Marvel's head of television.
However, for Thursday, Loeb showed up onstage dressed in what appeared to be stereotypical karate clothing.
OH MY GOD.
Iron Fist has been criticized in the past for appropriating East Asian culture and failing to develop a character who has problematic roots.
Clear the mind to calm the mind.
In 2016, Loeb defending the casting of a white actor in the role of Iron Fist, telling BuzzFeed News that it made him an outsider.
Because of this, Loeb's costume was seen as a way of mocking critics of the show or possibly antagonizing them more.
Jeph Loeb just wanted to make it clear who should be blamed for that first season of Iron Fist.
If I ever meet Jeph Loeb I will probably challenge him to a fight https://t.co/5bDWrErxkY
This is actual hell. We live in hell. Hell is real, it is present, and it is here, all around us, like a great big blanket of fire and brimstone https://t.co/LNfcHTGWAE
Some on Twitter defended the outfit, saying it was done for a fan of the show.
Seeing some people comment about Jeph Loeb's outfit. Well, story behind that was that an audience member waited all night to get in. Cast signed that jacket for her. #IronFist #SDCC
But others countered that this didn't make the costume OK, especially since Marvel's white Editor-in-Chief confirmed last year that he had written comics under an Asian pseudonym.
i don’t know that jeph loeb’s chris farley cosplay was the best move to make after the cb cebulski mess, but what do i know
Hi, my name is Jeph Loeb, I like to take the critiques people have of the things I do and instead double down and poke them in the eyes with them https://t.co/5KuwsVdIKA
jeph loeb seriously wyd bro
According to those at the panel, the costume was removed as part of a "bit" with the show's lead actress, Jessica Henwick.
She made him surrender the costume. #ironfist #sdcc
@AlannaBennett it was part of a weird bit where he rambled about Karate Kid for a bit and then Jessica Henwick came out and yelled at him to take off his costume. 🤷♀️