The comedian Steve Harvey apologized on Tuesday for mocking Asian men on his TV show this month, days after saying in the lobby of Trump Tower that the criticism of him over the joke was “for no reason.”
In a concise statement posted on Twitter, Mr. Harvey said, “I offer my humblest apology for offending anyone, particularly those in the Asian community, last week. It was not my intention and the humor was not meant with any malice or disrespect whatsoever.”
The backlash after the segment, in which Mr. Harvey questioned whether Asian men were attractive to women outside of their race, was swift and furious, especially on social media, where Mr. Harvey’s own physical appearance was mocked. It prompted an Op-Ed in The New York Times by Eddie Huang, the chef, television host and author of “Fresh Off the Boat,” which inspired a sitcom on ABC. Asian-American elected officials in New York wrote a letter to Mr. Harvey, saying that his comments were “offensive” and “classless.”
For his part, Mr. Harvey revived the bubbling controversy when he brought it up unprompted last week after meeting with President-elect Donald J. Trump.
“I ain’t been laughing that much over the past few days,” Mr. Harvey said. “They’re kinda beating me up on the internet right now for no reason. But, you know, that’s life, ain’t it?”
No comments:
Post a Comment