Asian Leaders Angered by Rosie O'Donnell's 'Ching Chong' Comments

Arts & Entertainment Forum

Asian Leaders Angered by Rosie O'Donnell's 'Ching Chong' Comments

Monday, December 11, 2006

By Sara Bonisteel

NEW YORK — Note to Rosie O'Donnell: Stick to singsong.

"The View" co-host is in hot water for using the expression "ching chong" to describe Chinese people talking about Danny DeVito's drunken appearance on her show.

"The fact is that it's news all over the world. That you know, you can imagine in China it's like: 'Ching chong … ching chong. Danny DeVito, ching chong, chong, chong, chong. Drunk. 'The View.' Ching chong," O'Donnell said on a Dec. 5 episode of "The View."

The statement didn't sit well with John C. Liu, a New York City councilman, who fired off a letter to "View" co-host Barbara Walters.

"The 'ching-chong' bit is not a trivial matter," Liu told FOXNews.com. "It really hits a raw nerve for many people in the community — many like myself, who grew up with these kinds of taunts. We all know that it never ends at the taunts."

Liu isn't the only one offended.

The Asian American Journalists Association called O'Donnell's comments a "mockery" that gives "the impression that [Asian Americans] are a group that is substandard to English-speaking people."

Liu said his office has received complaints from around the New York area following the appearance. He directed his letter to Walters instead of O'Donnell because as producer of the show, he said, she ought to know better.

"It's just stupidity, and it's stupidity that justifies a response," Liu said of O'Donnell's behavior, adding the comments came "from someone who has been indignant herself when it comes to comments made by other people where she has perceived it as being negative against a particular community."

In November, O'Donnell made up with Kelly Ripa, co-host of "Live With Regis and Kelly," after accusing her of homophobia for pushing Clay Aiken's hand away from her mouth on the program.

O'Donnell remains unfazed.

"She's a comedian in addition to being a talk show co-host," Cindi Berger, O'Donnell's spokeswoman, said in a statement. "I certainly hope that one day they will be able to grasp her humor."

On Dec. 8, O'Donnell wrote in her blog "it was not my intent to mock." She clarified her position on Dec. 10, calling the bit "comedy."

"I do many accents and probably will continue to," she wrote. "My mom in law impression offends some southerners. What can u do? I come in peace."

O'Donnell is not the first comedian to raise the ire of the Asian-American community.

In 2001, Sarah Silverman told a joke on "Late Night With Conan O'Brien" that had the punch line "I love Chinks."

The NBC program issued an apology to Guy Aoki, the president of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, following Silverman's appearance.

Liu is still waiting for an apology for O'Donnell's comments.

"I think an acknowledgement that it was a mistake would be very much appreciated by the community," he said.
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-HECK!

As bad as Michael Richards...?

Here's the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnSuZz3gWuE

Not to mention this piece ripped Kelly Ripa as making anti-gay comments for saying she didn't know where Clay Aiken's hand has been. Freakin' hilarious.

Just goes to show the mentality if it's the other guy you can laugh it off and it's no big deal but when you can take offense to it... watch out.

-HECK!

No where near as bad as Richards, but still kind of sucky of her.

At the very least I think it's just as bad.

-HECK!

Sorry, but it's just what Chinese sounds like to English speakers. Just like english sounds like warble warble to Chinese speakers.

Dumb of her to say it though.

Maybe she will go on Letterman and apologize to China.

I saw this one, and didn't think anything of it when I saw it. And then I heard all the buzz. I guess I can see it as being a stupid thing to say, but I don't think she did it to be mean. She was making a joke about Danny DeVito and his drunkeness. You do have to be very careful what you say when you're a celebrity.

I wouldn't compare her to michael richards.

Rosie O'Donnel mocked how an entire race talks. She employed a stereotype on national television.

Richards made (horrible) racial comments to two men at a comedy club.

-HECK!

Richards made horrible DIRECT racial comments. Racial comments that affect THE ENTIRE RACE, not just those two men at the comedy club. And he did it intentionally, and with malice.

Rosie, I think, just didn't think about what she was saying. I'msure she'll apologize (if she hasn't already) and she'll mean it. Unlike Richards and his lame attempt at "apologizing."

if Mike Richards had just made fun of the way those two dudes talked, no one would have cared.

But he talked about lynching and dropped the n-bomb. And it sure didn't seem like he was joking.

that's 100 times worse than this.

I hear you, but if one guy calls another guy something, even though it is grossly uncalled for, that's between them. None of what Richards said was cool at all but the Richards and those two guys were yelling nasty crap at each other. Made a comment to the dude to his face.

I'm just looking for the consistancy here is all.

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Rosie O'Donnell apology falls flat

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Rosie O'Donnell says she s sorry for mocking spoken Chinese on "The View," but an association that represents journalists from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, including Chinese American, says O'Donnell's words aren’t enough.

Karen Lincoln Michel, president-elect of Unity: Journalists of Color Inc., said the organization was waiting for Barbara Walters, who created the show, to respond to a letter asking her to publicly acknowledge that O'Donnell's remarks were "patently offensive."

Lincoln Michel said O'Donnell's latest remarks "really didn't sound like an apology to me."

In a Dec. 5 segment, O'Donnell joked about how Danny DeVito s recent -- and seemingly drunken -- appearance on the ABC daytime talk show had become international news.

"You know, you can imagine in China it's like 'ching chong, ching chong chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong chong chong, drunk, "The View," ching chong,' " the 44-year-old comedian said.

On Thursday's show, she told the audience: "To say ching chong to someone is very offensive, and some Asian people have told me it s as bad as the n-word. Which I was like, 'Really? I didn t know that.'"

In a phone interview, Lincoln Michel told the AP, "I think by allowing Rosie O'Donnell's cheap jabs at Chinese Americans to go unchecked, then the network is essentially condoning racial and ethnic slurs."

In a discussion board on the Unity web site today, Lincoln Michel wrote, "I strongly urged the AP reporter to call the Asian American Journalists Association for a response because AAJA had asked O'Donnell for an apology. It's unfortunate that AAJA s response was not made the focal point of the story. " Unity represents more than 10,000 journalists nationwide.

"You know it was never (my) intent to mock," O'Donnell said on Thursday's show, "and I'm sorry for those people who felt hurt or were teased on the playground."

"But I'm also gonna give you a fair warning that there's a good chance I'll do something like that again, probably in the next week -- not on purpose. Only 'cause it's how my brain works."

O'Donnell characterized her accent as "Chinese, Asian, pseudo-Japanese, sounded a little Yiddish ..."

The Free Press contributed to this story
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-HECK!

I would like to add that the rapper Chingy, and actor Tommy Chong had better lawyer-up and govern themselves accordingly.





Tee-hee!

(my bad....)

I'm courious to hear how people that speak other languages immiatate English. Searuiosly, I wonder what it sounds like to people who don't understand it.

I have heard people from other countries do it on T.V., not in real life. They sound like a bad impersonation of John Wayne.