{"id":210397,"date":"2021-03-24T23:57:13","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T20:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/i-knew-it-was-wrong\/"},"modified":"2021-03-24T23:57:13","modified_gmt":"2021-03-24T20:57:13","slug":"i-knew-it-was-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/i-knew-it-was-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"#’I knew it was wrong’"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#’I knew it was wrong’<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cCancel culture\u201d is not to blame for Jay Leno\u2019s change of heart. <\/p>\n

The former talk-show host has issued an apology for making a series<\/a> of anti-Asian jokes made during his career. <\/p>\n

Amid renewed outcry following the shootings at an Atlanta spa, the former \u201cTonight Show\u201d host expressed his regret over his\u00a0racist comments during a Zoom call<\/a>\u00a0with Guy Aoki \u2014 leader of the activist group Media<\/a> Action Network for Asian Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Leno\u2019s offensive jokes prompted MANAA to undergo a nearly 15-year-long campaign to pressure NBC to cut ties with him. The comedian\u2019s\u00a0most recent offense<\/a>\u00a0came in 2019 on the set of \u201cAmerica\u2019s Got Talent,\u201d where he made fun of Koreans eating dog meat.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time I did those jokes, I genuinely thought them to be harmless,\u201d the 70-year-old said during the Zoom call. \u201cI was making fun of our enemy North Korea, and like most jokes, there was a ring of truth to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leno added, \u201cAt the time, there was a prevailing attitude that some group is always complaining about something, so don\u2019t worry about it. Whenever we received a complaint, there would be two sides to the discussion: Either, \u2018We need to deal with this\u2019 or \u2018Screw \u2019em if they can\u2019t take a joke.\u2019 Too many times I sided with the latter, even when in my heart I knew it was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Leno
Leno said cancel culture isn\u2019t to blame \u2014 he feels legitimately sorry for the jokes he made in his talk show career.<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Aoki called for Leno to apologize for his actions in 2012 when he wrote an open\u00a0letter<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cThe Tonight Show\u201d advertisers. Aoki wrote at the time, \u201cMany Americans are unable to distinguish between persons of Korean heritage living in North Korea, South Korea or the US, or between Asians and Asian Americans general<\/a>ly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTherefore, when Mr. Leno jokes about North Koreans and the consumption of dogs and cats, he perpetuates a persistent belief held by many Americans that Asian-Americans and Korean-Americans are perpetual foreigners who bring their objectionable dining habits to the US,\u201d Aoki continued.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He added that the \u201cJay Leno\u2019s Garage\u201d host\u2019s repeated comments were part of a larger problem that meant Asian-Americans were \u201csubjected to ridicule, disdain and abuse\u201d and that \u201cresulted in a rise in racial profiling and hate crimes against Asians, Asian-Americans and immigrants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aoki has accepted the apology. Leno also said he hopes that \u201cthe Asian-American community will be able to accept it as well, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future.\u201d <\/p>\n

MANAA President Rob Chan released a\u00a0statement<\/a>\u00a0on Wednesday, app<\/a>lauding Leno\u2019s words. \u201cI\u2019m happy that Jay came around, and that we will be working together in the future,\u201d Chan said.\u00a0\u201cWe\u00a0look forward to supporting Jay\u2019s efforts to do a better job\u00a0at using his public platform to stamp out systemic racism towards the [Asian-American Pacific Islander]\u00a0community.\u201d\n <\/div>\n