AAJA Demands Apology from Fox News
/The Asian American Journalists Association is demanding that Fox News issue an apology after a segment by Bill O'Reilly mouthpiece Jesse Watters.
Watters thought it would be funny to go to New York's Chinatown and make fun of the people. While many racists thought it was a funny segment that played off stereotypes, others thought it was disgusting and they included the AAJA.
The group issued a statement saying they were:
"Outraged and shocked by segment of “Watters’ World” on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor.” The segment was billed as a report on Chinese Americans’ views on the U.S. presidential election but it was rife with racist stereotypes, drew on thoughtless tropes and openly ridiculed Asian Americans.
Jesse Watters, O’Reilly Factor Correspondent and Host of Watters World, committed a litany of offenses, from asking Asian American women, “Do I bow to say hello?” to asking an Asian American man if he knew karate. He mixed in stereotypes of various Asian groups, conflating Koreans with Chinese and Japanese communities. The segment used clips of martial arts movies and interviewed Asian Americans whose primary language isn’t English in order to mock them.
It’s 2016. We should be far beyond tired, racist stereotypes and targeting an ethnic group for humiliation and objectification on the basis of their race. Sadly, Fox News proves it has a long way to go in reporting on communities of color in a respectful and fair manner.
Host Bill O’Reilly called the segment “gentle fun.” There was nothing gentle or fun about it. It was rude, offensive, mocking, derogatory and damaging.
Fox missed a real opportunity to investigate the Asian American vote, a topic not often covered in mainstream news."
Fox News has not commented on Watters' over-the-line segment. Watters did issue a non-apology saying, "As a political humorist, the Chinatown segment was intended to be a light piece, as all Watters World segments are... My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offense."
Here is the segment, if you didn't see it.
