Members of 134 Asian Pacific American organizations met with Fox News executives on Tuesday to hand over a community letter and petition with over 24,000 signatures in response to a controversial segment aired on the news network’s “The O’Reilly Factor.”
The groups expressed their continued outrage over a segment that that saw reporter Jesse Watters mock and perpetuate stereotypes of Chinese Americans in New York’s Chinatown as he questioned locals on the street about this November’s upcoming presidential election.
The letter – which was signed by each of the 134 representatives – asks Fox News for a written apology, a commitment to diversity and sensitivity training and news that would educate viewers on the AAPI electorate, according to Asian Americans Advancing Justice.
“The outpouring of support for this call to action – from across the Asian American and Pacific Islander community, including many student organizations, and beyond – is a powerful demonstration of the widespread outrage and hurt this racist segment has caused,” said Christopher Kang, national director of the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans.
The letter urges the network to increase the number of AAPI guests it has on its segments and for top executives to continue this kind of important dialogue with AAPI leaders via regular meetings.
“It was deeply humbling to be able to provide a platform by which those thousands – perhaps even millions – of voices could directly reach representatives of Fox News,” Jenn Fang of Reappropriate said. “I sincerely hope that today’s events lay the groundwork for a fruitful and lasting conversation between Fox News and the AAPI community on issues of inclusion and diversity.”
A few days after the segment aired, Watters tweeted that he had “regret” about the segment. “My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offense,” Watters wrote. “As a political humorist, the Chinatown segment was intended to be a light piece.”
Fox News has yet to announce an official apology.
