06.24.07
Editorial: Taking Cheap Shots at Asian Americans is Comedy Gold!
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| If this homogeneous crowd thinks I’m funny, then Asian Americans must think I’m funny too, right?** |
In a recent appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Chelsea Handler decided to showcase her comedic talent by playing up a few stereotypes on Asian Americans. In TV shows like The Tonight Show, it is a usual practice for the topics of the interview to be reviewed by the shows producers for objectionable content. It is therefore unlikely that this was a simple stream of consciousness, that she “didn’t mean to offend anyone,” or that she “didn’t know this was offensive.” This was most likely a planned comedy routine that was created for no other purpose than to publicly humiliate Asian Americans, and to get a cheap laugh out of it.
We at FALLOUT CENTRAL believe that behavior like this is often met with a limited response and/or back-handed apologies which have a crippling affect on our community and cause fear and misdirected anger. Exercise your right to freedom of speech and condemn her need to stoop to Asian jokes for a cheap laugh. Click here for instructions on how to do this.
(**Not the actual words of Chelsea Handler. This caption represents the author’s own satirical interpretation.)
Jun Zuniga said,
June 25, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Chelsea Handler: I say a lot of bad things…like Angelina Jolie, I said some bad things about her. I just don’t understand why she can’t adopt a baby from the country she lives in. *applause* What is she, anti-American? Thank you, there’s a lot of children in America that need homes, instead she goes to Vietnam and adopts a baby, then changes his name…to Pax. You know, you don’t change somebody’s name after three years old, she’s probably running around the house like, “Pax…Pax…” He’s like, “Who the hell is Pax?” *laughter*. You know? And…and then her statement was, “He’s adjusting to his family life really well, he is very strong.” I’m like, “He’s three, okay?” He’s not strong, he doesn’t know if he’s…he probably doesn’t even know if he’s Asian, yet, okay? He certainly doesn’t know he’s going to be a horrible driver *laughter* Or, or, that he’s going to be amazing at doing nails. He has no idea.
Robin Williams: *attempts Vietnamese accent* (makes some statement about homework)
jennybex said,
June 25, 2007 at 2:48 pm
Are “women are bad driver” jokes still ok too then?
reappropriate » Blog Archive » Chelsea Handler and Robin Williams Making Anti-Asian Jokes said,
June 25, 2007 at 7:30 pm
[…] So, I don’t know who the hell Chelsea Handler is, but here is her official site, her MySpace, and her Wikipedia article. Apparently, she is a comedian and the host of a new celebrity gossip/talk show. She and Robin Williams were guests on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno when Handler, mocking Angelina Jolie’s newly adopted Vietnamese child, Pax Thien, joked that Pax probably didn’t know he was Asian yet, let alone a bad driver or could do nails really well. Robin Williams chimed in with a bad Asian accent, saying something unintelligible about homework. (Update: YouTube clip is no longer functional. View the clip by following the link on this Fallout Central post). […]
Nat said,
June 26, 2007 at 8:40 pm
Whatever.
Get used to it. We’re taking over their country and breeding with more and more of their women. Just lay low till we take over.
yea sure i'm antisemite.. and what's your argument?? said,
June 26, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Wow.. I can’t believe this. When i first read this article.. I thought.. “she’s GOT to be a j**”. Then I did some research and found out that she is really a j**. NO WONDER. The source of all racism and stereotyping of asian americans on tv is j**s who run and own all the mainstream media stations (NBC, WB, CBS, FOX, ABC, etc)
uncle tom said,
June 26, 2007 at 11:37 pm
hm, what about angelina’s african daughter, Zahara?
is she going to grow up to be a crack ho? basketball player? working at white castle or getting your fries at mickey d’s?
clearly, we’re working with a double standard here.
Dirty Mike said,
June 26, 2007 at 11:41 pm
this is freaking hilarious. IT IS COMEDY. you damn asians are so sensitive about s*** like this. It’s not “stooping” to Asian jokes, it is just funny. another funny thing is how you asians do NOTHING to break stereotypes. Asians continue to be bad drivers and continue to open nail salons, but when they get called on it like they did here, there’s a huge uproar. cry me a river, build me a bridge, and GET THE F*** OVER IT.
BE AFRAID said,
June 27, 2007 at 3:04 am
Dirty Mike:
Yeah, we understand what needs to be done for the sake of comedy. But right now, s*** like that ain’t funny. Perhaps it could be funny if there was a more balanced representation of Asians in the media. But the reality is that there exist disproportionately few positive portrayals of diversity of ourselves in the media. It has resulted in behavior and violence (http://www.petitiononline.com/mtahate1/petition.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Chin) against people of color. The people who engage in this behavior against people of color weren’t born that way. They learned it from someone somewhere. These days, the media plays a very big part in shaping people’s perceptions of others.
So, until we see more positive portrayals of ourselves in the media, don’t you dare tell me to “get the f*** over it,” because sooner or later, we’ll outnumber you. And when that happens, you’re the one who’s gonna have to get over it. You’ll be workin for me, son.
Yeah, be afraid. Learn to suck up to Asians now, before it’s too late. Otherwise, you people will be extinct.
are you serious said,
June 27, 2007 at 4:47 am
yeah i bet you know what you’re talking about, Dirty Mike. how many Asians do you know? i like how you think Asians aren’t actively “doing” something to break the stereotypes. what, you think WHITE people can’t be bad drivers too?
don’t act like you know about all the Asians. it says something about the ignorance level of the people in this country…and yes, including you.
oh yeah, and if this unoriginal comedienne finds something other than the TYPICAL, TIRED Asian stereotypes to joke about, MAYBE i’ll laugh.
whitey said,
June 27, 2007 at 5:58 am
“she’s so racist, she has to be a jew, because all jews are racist”
mmm irony. but seriously though….grow some balls, people. or put 100 clips of Blue Collar comedy tour up here to show you’re not complete double-standard cock suckers.
john said,
June 27, 2007 at 1:44 pm
everyone is too hypersensitive about this issue. i’m a white guy and sometimes make racial type jokes and i’m no racist. if you listen to someone like don rickles in his old routines he was talking about watermelon and black guys… indians, asians, jews as well etc… -he being a jew- it doesn’t have to come across mean spirited. it can be a kind of gentle fun and bonding experience between all peoples.
my girlfriend is american-korean and i love asian culture and history. and i used to talk about the penis sizes of different cultures. and she said her ex asian boyfriend was 10 inches… damn! that shut me up.
tuffgong said,
June 28, 2007 at 1:32 am
typical white guy w/azn girlfriend. always talkin about other mens’ penis size. ya closet homo.
Lisa said,
June 28, 2007 at 3:24 am
“I’m a white guy, and I have an Asian girlfriend, and I don’t find that offensive.” What a tool. That s*** is offensive, as all stereotyping racist “jokes” are. There are actually funny jokes one can make about Asian-Americans, etc, but that requires actual knowledge about their idiosyncracies and subculture. But dumb-ass whities are too ignorant to get it.
I’m a white woman, I have an Asian boyfriend and friends, and I find Handler (and the posters above) incredibly offensive. People like that make me embarassed to be white. Racist jerks.
joan said,
June 29, 2007 at 2:23 am
even though thats a joke, it was totally unnecessary. im not asian, but i also know that not all asians are nail artists and bad drivers-commonsense? stereotyping is so shallow and immature. its WONDERFUL to be funny, but if your only funny when making fun of a specific race just proves how lame someone can be. and using a child for a joke…. ugh come on
she can be better than that.
Kyung Jun said,
June 29, 2007 at 2:55 am
what a f***ing w****. She makes stereotypical jokes and it’s acceptable on national TV… WOW….
Apollyon said,
June 29, 2007 at 5:22 pm
There was a point in time when the joke would have been that the child would grow up to be a piano prodigy or a gifted cardiac surgeon.
At what point in time did that change? And for what reasons? I believe these are very important issues well worth considering.
Karen said,
June 30, 2007 at 10:13 pm
She makes fun of EVERYBODY. Hello, that’s comedy. This reminds me of a conversation I overheard between two co-workers:
“Where do you live? The Sunset District?”
“Why does everyone assume I live in the Sunset District? Because I’m Chinese?”
“So where do you live?”
“The Sunset District.” Okay, then.
bruce said,
July 2, 2007 at 1:45 am
shutup “karen.” lemme guess. you only date white guys. how predictable. *yawwwwwn*
Apollyon said,
July 10, 2007 at 7:45 am
The “makes fun of everybody” argument doesn’t work.
In todays politically sensitive environment, some groups are targeted more than others, and in different manners.
This is the inequity that we are trying to address. Denying that it exists is an attempt to negate the whole basis for the struggle for empowerment and is thus unacceptable.
sandskingo said,
August 1, 2007 at 3:59 am
Oh, boo hoo!
She said AZN drivers are poor drivers. Well, here in Asia, Asians are horrible drivers. Boo hoo.
And learn to read. She wasn’t making fun of the adopted child. She was making fun of the adoptive mother.
This site is full of arse-clenchingly stupid people.
Nguyen said,
October 18, 2007 at 3:38 pm
It’s very intersting to me that it is “safe” to make light of stereotypes of various Asian groups and even caucasions. And yet there seldomly, if not none, comments exist about Blacks? Would that be a greater backlash? I feel that if a “joke” is to be made, be fair and spread the wealth.
Nguyen said,
October 18, 2007 at 3:42 pm
By the way, as for Robins Williams, ummm he’s really not funny anymore. His attempts (at humor) are to ride the coat-tails of someone who isn’t funny, Chelsey Handler.
Think about the sources. You can’t take it to heart.
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November 12, 2007 at 7:07 pm
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