Asian American community leaders and elected officials gathered in Los Angeles’ Chinatown on Thursday to demand an apology from comedian Shane Gillis for past racist remarks, threatening to call for boycotts of Netflix and Bud Light if he refuses.
Gillis has faced a resurgence of criticism following his recent success, including a new sitcom on Netflix and a Bud Light-sponsored comedy tour. This renewed attention comes after a 2019 controversy, where resurfaced podcast clips containing racist slurs, including one where he said, “Chinatown is fucking crazy… Let the fucking ch—s live there,” and another where he called then-presidential candidate Andrew Yang a “Jew ch—,” led to his removal from Saturday Night Live.
Guy Aoki, founding president of Media Action Network for Asian Americans, expressed frustration over Gillis’s career resurgence, stating, “If you duck a few years, slowly build your career back up and continue on as if nothing had happened, you can come back even stronger than ever.” Aoki has previously challenged comedians like Sarah Silverman and Jay Leno for racist jokes about Asians.
The call for accountability extends beyond Gillis, with community leaders urging Netflix and Bud Light to sever ties with the comedian unless he issues a sincere apology. “We don’t appreciate the double standard,” Aoki said, noting Gillis’s selective apologies for other offensive remarks.
Congressmember Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, issued a statement expressing hope that Gillis “has taken the time to reflect upon his past words and actions and will finally apologize to the Asian American community.”
The press conference took place at the Chinese American Citizens Alliance lodge in Chinatown, a location chosen to highlight the real-world impact of racist language. “Words and actions have consequences,” said Henry Lo, vice president of the L.A. chapter of the alliance.
Cindy Wu of the Anti-Asian Hate Coalition of Southern California emphasized the potential harm to children, stating, “When [children] hear racial slurs, or do derogatory remarks in the name of comedy, it can only normalize hatred and prejudice.”
Despite the controversy, Gillis’s new Netflix comedy series “Tires” remains one of the streamer’s top 10 shows, renewed for a second season even before its premiere.
