Late night host and comedian Jay Leno has apologized for a series of jokes about his career targeting Asian communities.
Media Action Network (MANA), an activist group for Asian Americans, apologizes after nearly 15 years of campaigning Diversity2020 reports that Leno broke the Korean people eating dog meat – a complaint that annoyed numerous players on the set of NBC’s “America’s Got Talent”.
“At the time when I made those jokes, I considered them really harmful,” Lena said on a recent zoom call with MNA leader Guy Ok Oki. “I was making fun of our enemy North Korea, and like most jokes they also had a ring of truth.”
Leno added, “At the time, there was a prevailing trend that some groups always complained about something, so don’t worry about it. Whenever we received a complaint, there would be two sides to the discussion: either ‘we need to deal with this’ or’ screw ‘if they can’t joke.’ Even when I knew in my heart that it was wrong, I often sided with the latter. “
In his light, Leno said, “I apologize for this. I don’t consider this particular case another example of a canceled culture, but legally wrong that was done on my behalf. Mana has been very kind to me in apologizing. I hope the Asian American community will also be able to accept it, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future. “
U.S. Entertainment and the media are increasingly voicing outrage over the wave of anti-Asian violence in the Middle East, with many blaming China for Trump-era rhetoric and the spread of the coronavirus. Last week, a lone gunman in Atlanta killed eight people at three spas. Six of the eight victims were Asian women who rallied against hate crimes and inspired nationwide rallies to support the API community.
Most of Leno’s old jokes created rumors about the consumption of dog meat by Asian communities. In a lengthy explanation of its regularity, Mana told AOKI that it appealed to Leno’s new employers in Fox, where it hosts the game show “You Bet Your Life,” giving them an initial deadline to fire the host or contacting sponsors to boycott the MAAAAA project.
After appeals from Jack Auburn, CEO of Fox Television Stations, and producers Tom Werner and David Hurwitz, who joined Aoki, Lino. A Leno spokesman confirmed his apology but did not comment further.
