Fox News’ ‘Watters World’ goes all in on Chinese stereotypes
Fox News’ Jesse Watters headed to New York City’s Chinatown to see how the neighborhood’s Chinese-American residents feel about Donald Trump and U.S.-China relations for a segment that many are denouncing as offensive and racist.
The man-on-the-street segment, which aired earlier in the week on “The O’Reilly Factor” but drew widespread backlash Wednesday, began with what’s sometimes called the “Oriental riff,” a well-known nine-note phrase often used in Western movies to represent East Asia.
It proceeded to show Watters asking New York residents of Chinese descent several questions about politics, such as how they feel about Trump’s comments about China during the presidential debate, and a few about Chinese stereotypes. The questions included:
“Am I supposed to bow to say hello?”
“Is it the Year of the Dragon? Rabbit?”
“Do you know karate?”
“Do you have any traditional Chinese herbs for performance?”
After tremendous backlash, Watters acknowledged the controversy on Twitter and said his segment was supposed to be a light piece of political humor. He said he regrets “if anyone found offense.”
As a political humorist, the Chinatown segment was intended to be a light piece, as all Watters World segments are.
— Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) October 5, 2016
My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offense.
— Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) October 5, 2016
The video included unnecessary subtitles for a man who spoke English that could easily be understood. In other cases, the “Watters World” team used some Chinese immigrants’ limited English vocabulary to set up jokes. Watters also played with nunchucks and received a foot massage.
For his recurring segment on “The O’Reilly Factor,” Watters regularly interviews a slew of people on the street and edits it into a highlight reel to mock them as uninformed. These clips are punctuated with one-liners and clips from famous movies for what’s intended to be comedic effect. Past “Watters World” segments have included visits to Amish Country and Manhattan’s Little Italy neighborhood.
This time was no different: The reel was interspersed with clips of Chris Farley from “Beverly Hills Ninja,” Bruce Lee from “Enter the Dragon,” Jack Nicholson from “Chinatown” and Pat Morita from “The Karate Kid,” among others.
According to critics, Watters’ segment was doubly offensive for implying that the loyalty and patriotism of Chinese-Americans was in some way torn when he asked whether China and the U.S. were friends or enemies.
Reached for comment, a Fox News Channel spokesperson pointed Yahoo News to an Independent Journal Review profile of Watters published at the end of last year. In the profile, Watters said he didn’t aim to upset people.
“I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings,” Watters told the outlet. “I go into it thinking how can I listen to them and have them share with me their thoughts and opinions in a way that doesn’t come across as mean.”
But many people said Wednesday that the latest segment crossed the line. Farhad Manjoo, who writes about technology for the New York Times, encouraged viewers to watch the whole thing. He said it “starts out bad and just keeps getting more and more offensive.” And he wasn’t alone.
@BenjySarlin It’s shocking. I wonder how many people signed off on this as it went through the Fox News sluiceway.
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) October 5, 2016
New York-based actresses Li Jun Li and Celia Au were also disappointed in Fox News for making the video.
So disappointed at #FOXnews #WattersWorld https://t.co/a0j7pBCIwc
— Celia Au (@ItsCeliaAu) October 5, 2016
Richard Lui, a news anchor for MSNBC and NBC News, wrote a Facebook post that imagines what the clip might have been like if Watters had focused on African-Americans rather than Chinese-Americans.
Did you see this TV news story on African American election sentiment.
It starts with the reporter walking through the African American neighborhood of Harlem. The music they choose for the video–the theme song to Roots. The reporter’s first question: “Do you enjoy throwing spears?” Later he asks one young Black man, “Can you run fast?”
Then a series of questions to other African Americans in the street:
“Can you guys stop terrorism in Somalia?”
“Do they call African food in Africa, just food?”
“Are African leaders America’s friends?”
“How do they dance in Africa?”
Sprinkled inbetween answers, editors mix in funny lines from Sanford & Son with Redd Foxx using a stereotypical “Black” accent. Some George Jefferson is used too. Producers add English subtitles to the people’s answers, that are in English.
It goes on.
This offensive story could have been told in the 1960s. Only it wasn’t. It was told this week. And about Asian Americans this time. Watch.
At the end of the “Watters World” video, Watters joined Fox News host Bill O’Reilly back in the studio to discuss whether Chinatown’s residents were up to speed on U.S. politics. According to O’Reilly, “some people” say that Chinatown is “very insulated” and that its resident don’t engage with American politics, but based on the interviews, it appears that this is not the case.
“They’re such a polite people,” Watters said. “They won’t walk away or tell me to get out of here. They just sit there and say nothing.”
O’Reilly said he knows Fox is “going to receive letters” — presumably from people who found the segment racist — but insisted that it was “gentle fun.”
Watters agreed: “It was all in good fun.”
Full video:
