But hey, it’s nothing to get offended over, because as Watters tells O’Reilly, “It was all in good fun.”
The segment has since blown up on Twitter and Asian American groups like the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) have failed to see the alleged “fun” in the video. Yesterday, the AAJA issued a statementasking for an apology from Fox News over the segment.
The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) is outraged and shocked by the Oct. 3rd 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.
Following the uproar, Watters has responded on Twitter, writing that the piece was meant to be “light” and “tongue-in-cheek.
As a political humorist, the Chinatown segment was intended to be a light piece, as all Watters World segments are.
— Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) October 5, 2016
My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offense.
— Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) October 5, 2016
However, it appears that most people failed to notice the subtle “tongue-in-cheek” humor, picking up more on the blatant racism:
@pattonoswalt In most workplaces, you'd get fired for *sharing* that video. At Fox, you get put on TV for making it.
— Brendan McDonald (@ProducerMcD) October 5, 2016
This is one of the most blatantly racist things I have ever seen. How can anyone at @FoxNews defend this? It's nuts https://t.co/djbpRvNDoE
— Farhad Manjoo (@fmanjoo) October 5, 2016
The worst part about this bluntly racist Fox News segment is all the people who have no idea it's bluntly racist https://t.co/p16XNiW8up
— Pablo S. Torre (@PabloTorre) October 5, 2016
HT/ ShangHiist