A group of New York politicians are — no joke — demanding an apology from comedian Steve Harvey for mocking Asian men on his daytime talk show.
Harvey struggled to contain his laughter as he poked fun at a self-help book titled, “How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men.”
The book should consist of two sentences, Harvey told his audience.
“Excuse me, do you like Asian men? No, thank you,” the Family Feud host quipped in his bit on Jan. 6.
Harvey took the joke a step further when he drummed up an idea for another book, “How to Date a Black Woman: A Practical Guide (for) Asian Men.”
“That’s one page too!” Harvey said. “You like Asian men? I don’t even like Chinese food. It don’t stay with you no time…I don’t eat what I can’t pronounce.”
The segment drew an immediate backlash online — and a sternly-worded letter written by Assemblyman Ron Kim (D-Queens), Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens), Councilman Peter Koo (D-Queens), Councilwoman Margaret Chin (D-Manhattan) and Rep. Yuh-line Niou (D-Manhattan).
“We are writing to demand an immediate public apology for your offensive, classless comments on a recent segment of Steve Harvey,” reads the letter dated Friday.
“In just one short clip, you and your producers managed to insult Asian men, white women, and black women with a single skit. Your statements were racist, sexist, and completely inappropriate for a public figure on a show broadcast to millions.”
In a statement, Koo also took aim at NBC, the network that broadcasts the “Steve Harvey Show.”
“What makes Steve Harvey’s ridiculous diatribe even worse is that NBC apparently found nothing wrong with disparaging an entire race of people,” Koo said.
“Asian Americans are sick and tired of defending themselves from this sort of public ridicule, and networks need to wake up and recognize that such bullying tactics are unacceptable.”
A “Steve Harvey Show” spokesperson had in fact issued an apology this past week when the clip caught fire on social media.
“Steve Harvey was poking fun at unusual book titles in a comedic segment from Friday’s show,” the rep said. “His comments were never meant to demean the Asian community and the show sincerely apologizes to anyone who was offended.”
