Alerts!

AAJA has received news about the following issues of concern regarding Asian Americans and/or Pacific Islanders:

Miley Cyrus Lawsuit Dropped

A Los Angeles judge ruled today in throwing out a woman's lawsuit against teen singer and actress Miley Cyrus and her friends, who made "slant eyes" in a private photograph. Lucie J. Kim sued the singer Feb. 11 in Los Angeles Superior Court, seeking $4,000 in civil rights damages per potential claimant, over a photo of Cyrus and some friends slanting their eyes, supposedly trying to make themselves look Asian. - November 20, 2009

Lawrence cop's racial gaffe draws ire - August 7, 2009

A police officer referred to an unidentified Asian male as "Jackie Chan" instead of "John Doe." The Lawrence police chief said the incident was "racially insensitive." Read more at Indystar.com.

Texas lawmaker suggests Asian Americans adopt "easier" names - April 9, 2009

In comments over voter identification legislation, state Rep. Betty Brown suggested that citizens of Asian descent adopt less difficult names: "Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese — I understand it's a rather difficult language — do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?" The lawmaker apologized April 11.

Lou Dobbs ridicules a hypothetical Asian ethnic holiday - March 19, 2009

CNN news anchor Lou Dobbs asks rhetorically whether we have a "St. Jin-Tao-Wow" day while complaining about America's ethnic holidays.

OCA Praises First Asian American Ivy League President, But Dismayed by Student Satire - March 16, 2009

The Organization of Chinese Americans praises the recent appointment of Dr. Jim Yong Kim as president of Dartmouth College. OCA is dismayed that a satire story in a Dartmouth student e-publication referred to Kim as a "Chinaman" and that "another hard-working American's job will be taken by an immigrant willing to work in substandard conditions."

Miley Cyrus Makes Slanty Eyes in Photo - Feb. 3, 2009

Teen actress and singer Miley Cyrus is being criticized by Asian American advocacy group OCA for a photo circulating of her and others slanting their eyes in apparent mockery of Asians. OCA "hopes that Miley Cyrus will apologize to her fans." Gossip site TMZ picked up the story on Monday, Feb. 2. On Feb. 5, Cyrus said the "goofy face" was taken out of context." In a Feb. 8 posting to her website, the teen singer adds that she's "learned a valuable lesson from this and know that sometime my actions can be unintentionally hurtful."

Casting of White Actors for Asian Roles - Jan. 30, 2009

"The Last Airbender," a Paramount film in development, is based on the "Avatar" cartoon that draws heavily from a number of Asian and Native cultures for its depictions of characters and plot. From recent announcements, it appears to have all European Americans in lead roles.

Prince Harry Uses Racial Slurs in Video - Jan. 12, 2009

Britain's Prince Harry, third in line for the throne, used the works "Paki" and "raghead" in a video he shot three years ago while in the army and being deployed to Cyprus. The army is investigating the incident.

Radio Host Equates Minorities With Crime - Dec. 12, 2008

Media Matters reports Milwaukee radio talk show host Mark Belling took a stab at a Hmong American family, which allegedly included gang members, that moved into a neighborhood.

Daytime TV Personality Dismisses Deepak Chopra's Mumbai Remarks - Dec. 4, 2008

On ABC's "The View," co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck dismissed comments made by philosopher and writer Deepak Chopra regarding the attacks in Mumbai, saying he should "go light a bowl of incense." Defamer has the clip. (Hasselbeck apologized on the show Dec. 4.)

Newspapers Refuse Paid Distribution of "Obsession" DVD - Sept. 30, 2008

A controversial DVD about Muslims distributed as a paid circular in newspapers has spawned some advertising departments to refuse the ad. Details.

LPGA Reneges on English-Only Policy - Sept. 5, 2008

The Ladies Professional Golf Association reneges on its proposal because of criticism. Read AP story. (AAJA Sacramento co-president Judy Lin contributed to the story).

LPGA Proposes English-Only Policy - Aug. 29, 2008

The Ladies Professional Golf Association is proposing a policy that would require participating golfers to be proficient in English. A California assemblyman sent LGPA a joint letter protesting the policy. The Asian American Justice Center also opposes the proposed policy. Korean players were recently targeted by Minnesota media during a golf tournament.

Advertisement for Spain's Olympic Basketball Teams Has Players Making Slit-Eyed Gestures - Aug. 11, 2008

Two large photos that appear in an ad in Spain's sports daily Marca show the men and women's Olympic basketball teams making slit-eyed gestures. The teams pose on a court with a picture of a Chinese dragon. An article first appeared in Britain's The Guardian. Later Yahoo picked up the story, ABC included a statement from the Organization of Chinese Americans, and The New York Times quoted the I.O.C. as saying the gesture is "inappropriate."

An Asian man yelling with an Asian accent is considered offensive and racist. Newsday story. Watch the video.

Colorado Campus Press Editorial Targets Asians - Feb. 20, 2008

AAJA was alerted to this editorial, which calls for Asians to be captured, dragged and hog-tied. Is it poor taste or satire? Comments. (An apology was issued Feb. 21, 2008. Read more).

Gawker Accentuates Reporter's Asian Accent - Jan. 18, 2008

Media gossip site Gawker referred to Wall Street Journal reporter Li Yuan, who's from the People's Republic of China, as a "heavily-accented reporter."

Illinois Car Dealership's Anti-Asian, Xenophobic Video Ad - Dec. 24, 2007

FOX Chicago has been running South Oak Dodge car dealer's anti-Asian and xenophobic commercial. (As of Jan. 18, 2008, the video has been replaced). Chicago area advocacy groups want the ad removed. Myron Dean Quon, Esq., Asian American Institute Legal Director, has this synopsis:

"In this commercial, 'SuperDon vs. Import Man,' a car dealer wearing a Superman outfit punches a fake sumo wrestler who demands that a shopper buy from him, using a mocking Asian accent. The 'sumo wrestler' is wearing a sign with fake Asian script that reads 'Import Man.' The 'sumo wrestler' goes flying through the air for the rest of the commercial."

Radio Host Has Anti-Muslim Outburst On-Air - Nov. 30, 2007

On his nationally syndicated radio program, Michael Savage made a series of disparaging remarks against Muslims, Islam and the Quran during his October 29, 2007 broadcast. The Council on American-Islamic Relations and National Arab American Journalists Association Coordinator Ray Hanania issued letters protesting the unfair, unbalanced comments. CAIR encourages advertisers to pull ads from the show and NAAJA asked for a public apology. Listen to the clip, read NAAJA's letter, and see Michael Savage's responses on the NAAJA website.

Los Angeles Times Campaign Donor Story Sparks Controversy - Oct. 24, 2007
The article focuses on New York Chinese Americans contributing to Hillary Clinton's campaign. Some say it's damaging to the Asian American community, some say it isn't. Read more.

In a Letter From The Editor entitled "The Secret", Editor-in-Chief Jim Nelson wrote in the May 2007 issue of GQ Magazine "All you need to do is visualize what you want (an Alfa Romero? leather pants? an Asian whore?)." Towards the end of the one-page letter, Nelson wrote "(If it's an Asian whore, congrats)." New York Post: GQ Editor Ripped For Slur.

Princeton Newspaper Satire Mocks Asian Americans - Jan. 22, 2007

The Daily Princetonian released a parody edition with an op-ed piece offensive to Asian Americans using stereotypes and broken English. The phony column is entitled "Princeton University is racist against me, I mean, non-whites." The publication has since released an editors' note and Asian-American Students Association statement. See guest columns by Jeff Yang and Kerwin Berk.

New York City Power 105 Radio DJ Star Sues Councilman Jon Liu - August 18, 2006

Hip-hop radio host DJ Star is suing New York City Councilman John Liu for defamation. The $55 million lawsuit alleges that Liu defamed DJ Star, who made on-air anti-Asian statements in May. See story in Asian Week.

Ohio DJ Apologizes - July 18, 2006

DJ Lucas of Tower 98.3 FM Toledo, Ohio, apologized for his on-air prank calls that offended Asian Americans. The station suspended him and the program director. A petition drive called for the DJ's firing.

Tower 98.3 FM Toledo, Ohio - May 22, 2006

Assuming that people of Asian ancestry don't speak English, 98.3 FM Toledo DJs made on-air telephone calls to Chinese restaurants with the intent of ridiculing broken English. When they encountered a place where two people with perfect English picked up, DJ Lucas reportedly responded by saying, "Who are you? Where are you guys from? What's with these white people working in Chinese restaurants? We're not calling Bob Evans!" Bob Evans Restaurants are headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. A group called Asian Communities United has circulated a petition protesting racist harassment broadcast on Toledo radio and calling for removal of the offending DJ. To date, the petition has generated 891 signers.

Racist Adidas Sneaker Pulled - May 22, 2006

The Japanese American Citizens League sent a letter to the Adidas president about the company's "cavalier" response to AAPI protests prompted by the shoe's racist caricature. Adidas stopped manufacturing the shoe allegedly because of community pressure, but JACL said in its letter that poor sales might have been a factor.

New York City Power 105 Radio - May 12, 2006

New York City Power 105 morning show radio host Troi Torain, aka DJ Star, was fired Wednesday by the station’s owner, Clear Channel Communications, for broadcasting racist and sexual remarks about a rival host’s wife and 4-year-old daughter. Torain directed his insults to Gia Casey, who is part Asian and wife of Raashaun Casey, aka DJ Envy, a rival on competing hip-hop station Hot 97. Torain offered to pay anyone who can tell him where Casey’s daughter attended school and described degrading sexual acts he would perform on her, then made racist slurs against Gia Casey, using the words "gook" and "slant-eyed." New York City Councilmember John C. Liu and other elected officials originally called for the firing and criminal investigation. "You can't broadcast threats like this," Liu says. "And these are real threats." Two days after Torain's firing, he was arrested, with New York police opening a hate crime investigation. See story in Asian Week.

New York Post - April 21, 2006

New York Post Headline: "WOK THIS WAY." On the cover of the April 21 issue of the New York Post is a photo of President George Bush tugging at the sleeve of Chinese President Hu Jintao with the boldfaced headline "WOK THIS WAY." See a story in the New York Daily News.

Adidas - April 14, 2006

Adidas, makers of athletic shoes and apparel, is releasing a new sneaker, the Y-1 HUF. The sneaker, part of the company's Yellow Series, features a caricature with slanted eyes, buck teeth and bowl cut with "Fong" written on its back heel. Images of the shoe are on the company's website and a close up of the face. AAJA member K. Oanh Ha has a story about the image in the Mercury News.

Rock Star Tees - April 14, 2006

Rock Star Tees, Inc., a company based in Richmond, Va., has been selling t-shirts with the line, "Me Ruv You, Rong Time." On their website, they justify use of the phrase by saying it's from the Stanley Kubrick film, "Full Metal Jacket."