Comedian and former late-night host Jay Leno issued an apology for years of anti-Asian jokes amid a rise in hate crimes against the Asian American community.
The apology, issued on Wednesday, was the culmination of a more than a decadelong campaign from the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, or MANAA, following Leno’s history of these types of jokes. His apology was issued in a joint statement with MANAA leader Guy Aoki.
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“At the time I did those jokes, I genuinely thought them to be harmless,” Leno said, according to a press release. “I was making fun of our enemy North Korea, and like most jokes, there was a ring of truth to them.”
“At the time, there was a prevailing attitude that some group is always complaining about something, so don’t worry about it,” he continued, providing insight into the comedy world. “Whenever we received a complaint, there would be two sides to the discussion: Either ‘We need to deal with this’ or ‘Screw ‘em if they can’t take a joke.’ Too many times I sided with the latter even when in my heart I knew it was wrong.”
The comedian said his apology is not coming in an effort to thwart off cancel culture, rather he believes he was “wrong.”
In light of that, Leno said, “I am issuing this apology. I do not consider this particular case to be another example of cancel culture but a legitimate wrong that was done on my part. MANAA has been very gracious in accepting my apology. I hope that the Asian American community will be able to accept it as well, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future.”
Hate crimes against Asian Americans spiked 150% throughout 2020, a year largely upended by the coronavirus pandemic. Experts have speculated that the pandemic, which originated in Wuhan, China, may have fueled some of the rise in violence, according to a study from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
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The rise in anti-Asian hate crimes gained more attention following the shooting of eight people, six of whom were Asian, in three shootings last week in Atlanta. The alleged shooter denied his acts were racially motivated and claimed, according to police, that he is a “sex addict” and wanted to “eliminate” the “temptation” of massage parlors. Still, activists claim the shooter’s argument is rooted in anti-Asian hate given the stereotypes of Asian massage parlors.
