WASHINGTON–Some Asian American leaders have accepted comedian and co-host Rosie O’Donnell’s late apology for her mock Chinese in the December 5 telecast of ABC-TV’s popular morning talk show, “The View.”

            But noting that “deceptively simple acts and comments are the root and catalyst of hate crimes and bias incidents,” the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) has taken a strong stand on the issue. Leaders have issued statements questioning the tone of the apology. They have also urged chapter presidents to conduct a letter-writing campaign addressed to top TV news figure and “The View” producer Barbara Walters. A public education campaign to avoid repetition of the incident is also planned.

“I am very concerned about the tone and intent of Ms. O’Donnell’s so-called ‘apology,’” said OCA National President Ginny Gong. “I don’t believe she fully realizes the seriousness of what she did in front of millions of Americans and the impact it has on our community. Jokes used by comics should not be at the expense of an entire population of people.”

“As a very public figure, she is an influential role model and should lead by example,” she stressed.

O'Donnell mimicked the Chinese sound when she remarked on actor Danny DeVito’s drunken appearance on the show. She said, “You know, you can imagine in China it’s like, ‘ching chong, ching chong chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong chong chong, drunk, ‘The View,’ ching chong.’” A week later, she issued a public apology on the show, saying, “You know, it was never (my) intent to mock, and I’m sorry for those people who felt hurt or were teased on the playground.” She described her mock accent as “Chinese, Asian, pseudo-Japanese, sounded a little Yiddish...” She added she was a comedian and does all kinds of accents.

OCA Executive Director Michael Lin added it did not seem like O’Donnell “realizes how this type of language can manipulate itself into much more serious and potentially violent acts.”

“O’Donnell and many others may not have considered her comments racist and only intended in jest,” he noted. “However, these comments when left unaddressed, can lead to much more serious incidents and crimes.” New York Council Member John Liu was on CNN Headline News December 14, when O’Donnell issued the apology, and highlighted “the broader issue of promoting more understanding in our society,” according to his top aide.

Other organizations that protested O’Donnell’s mock Chinese were the Asian American Justice Center (formerly the National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium or NAPALC), and Unity-Journalists of Color, which has four partner organizations representing over 10,000 members nationwide.

Barbara Walters

Other leaders have accepted O’Donnell’s apology. New York City Councilman John Liu, who wrote Ms. Walters, demanded an apology from O’Donnell. “Barbara Walters did not respond directly, but Rosie issued a public apology yesterday on ‘The View,’” Liu’s Chief of Staff John Choe told Asian Fortune December 15.

Liu said, “It was a really stupid stunt, but people are satisfied with her apology.  The ‘Ching Chong’ rant was offensive and projected a negative stereotype of Asians. The biggest problem lies in the reality that verbal taunts often escalate into even more hurtful and sometimes violent altercations.”

He continued: “We’re pleased that Barbara Walters has understood these remarks for what they are and has spoken with Mrs. O’Donnell. We call upon her to inject some constructive dialog in her television show to help eradicate misunderstandings and bias.”

The San Francisco Chronicle quoted Rene Astudillo, executive director of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), as saying O’Donnell acknowledged that (her action) hurt a lot of people.”

In the Chronicle’s story, “O’Donnell apologizes for Chinese parody/But comedian warns she is likely to spoof languages again,” staff writer Vanessa Hua noted some people were not satisfied with the apology.

She quoted Sandy Louie who pointed out O’Donnell “should not be let off the hook with the statement she made to get the protesters off her back. What she did was wrong, and she has not acknowledged it.”

On December 13, OCA Program Manager Douglas Lee urged Chapter presidents to access “The View” website and let Barbara Walters and the other co-hosts “know that the APA community will not tolerate such action and we demand a public apology by all parties for not only the incident, but also the delay in apologizing for it.” 

He suggested the OCA leaders write directly to Barbara Walters, and gave the following address: Barbara Walters, Producer, “The View”/American Broadcasting Company/320 West 66th Street New York , NY 10023 .

The incident received nationwide coverage. NY Council Member Liu’s aide emailed Asian Fortune the links to the articles. Among these: People Magazine, “Outrage Grows Over Rosie O’Donnell's Asian Joke;” Chicago Tribune, “O’Donnell Asian parody offends; Boston Globe, “Asian Americans upset with O’Donnell;” Dallas Morning News, “O’Donnell’s mockery of Chinese is no joke;” and Arizona National Ledger, “Rosie O'Donnell Racist ‘Joke:’ Hey Rosie! It Ain’t Funny No More.”