Creator Backlash: Cameron Crowe apologised for casting Emma Stone in the lead and reinforcing the whitewashing controversy in Hollywood. Stone herself expressed regret for taking the role, and when Sandra Oh brought it up at the 2019 Golden Globes, Stone (who was up for a Globe that year for her role in The Favourite) audibly apologised from the crowd.
Direct to Video: The British and French theatrical releases got cancelled, with the movie going straight to DVD and VOD.
Fake Mixed Race: Controversially, Emma Stone is cast as a character who has a mixture of Chinese and Hawaiian ancestry.
What Could Have Been: The project was first imagined with Reese Witherspoon and Ben Stiller in mind. They dropped out, and Cameron Crowe spent four years revising the script. He also made the characters younger. The female lead was also originally called 'Lisa'.
