Steve Harvey may have celebrated his 60th birthday yesterday with some cake and ice cream.
But he also did so by issuing a mea culpa.
The comedian and talk show host finally responded to the onslaught of criticism he’s received since cracking wise about Asian men way back on January 6.
During a taping of his program, Harvey couldn’t hold back his laughter while talking about a (real!) self-help book titled “How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men.”
You must admit: that’s a pretty funny title and a rather absurd subject or an actual book.
But some critics think Harvey went a bit too far in the way he approached this topic, imagining a fake conversation between an Asian man and a white woman.
He did so by taking on the persona of a mild-mannered Asian man, pretending as if this man just encountered a white woman and asked:
“‘Excuse me, do you like Asian men?’ ‘No.’ Okay, thank you.’”
Harvey went on to joke about Asian men then attempting to go after black women.
“Same thing,” he said, still laughing. “‘You like Asian men? … ‘I don’t even like Chinese food. I don’t eat what I can’t pronounce."”
Twitter went after Harvey pretty hard for these comments, with one user saying anyone who resembles “a human Mr. Potato Head” really should not insult anyone else’s looks.
Fresh Off the Boat author Eddie Huang and a group of New York-based Asian-American lawmakers also attacked Harvey via the following statement:
“You and your producers managed to insult Asian men, white women, and black women with a single skit. Your statements were racist, sexist, and completely inappropriate for a public figure on a show broadcast to millions.”
Ouch, huh?
In response, Harvey took to Twitter on Tuesday and wrote the following:
I offer my humblest apology for offending anyone, particularly those in the Asian community, last week.
It was not my intention and the humor was not meant with any malice or disrespect whatsoever.
To make the apology come across as especially sincere or legitimate (or something), Harvey didn’t issue this statement as a simple Tweet.
He did so as a screen capture of a typed-out message:
Harvey, of course, also famously apologized in late 2015 after announcing the wrong Miss Universe winner live on stage.
But many folks forgot about both of these scandals after Harvey did something else seemingly abhorrent on Friday, January 13: he met with Donald Trump!
Photos of the President-Elect and the comedian laughing in the lobby of Trump Tower quickly went viral over the weekend, with Harvey forced to explain the discussion.
He said that he sat with Trump as a favor to President Barack Obama, who asked Harvey to help ensure Trump was focused on problems plaguing the inner cities.
Here is how Harvey explained the unexpected meeting:
Do you think he needed to release such a message? Did he owe the public an explanation?
Should African-Americans protest Trump as President or actively try to work with him on important causes?
It does make for an interesting debate, far more interesting than any discussion involving how Asian men could try to date white women.
While you consider this subject matter and these questions, also consider Harvey’s apology above.
Are you buying it? Where does it rank among all-time celebrity apologies over the years? See below for more!
