I WASN'T HALLUCINATING!?

HOLEY SHEEEEET!

i just checked the view's video page here and they actually have the segment up of rosie o'donnell doing "ching chong". the video is labeled, "the view-hot topics-danny devito". it's about 3 minutes long and around the 2:06 mark she starts her "ching chong" thing.

i honestly thought i was hallucinating the whole thing because i hadn't heard about it via racialicous or angry asian man. so, i wrote to rosie via her blog to see if/how she would respond. nothing yet. i'll keep you posted if i hear anything....

UPDATE 12/7 :

the view got pre-empted by the president (what? is he covering up for her now?) i checked to see what videos they had available and there wasn't an apology. i don't know for sure if she apologized or not.

still no email from rosie. and on her blog, she's no longer taking any questions. so, i wrote and complained to barbara. that'll get me nowhere but i'm glad i got my measley 2 centavos out.

links to the video have been posted to racialicious, angry asian man, harlow's monkey and now - youtube and gawker (and um, what anonymous email tips... i didn't send numerous anonymous email tips to bigger bloggers than me.... wuh- huh? 0_o ) .


UPDATE 12/8:

i watched the view this morning and i didn't see/hear an apology either. it actually looked like a taped show. at one point, joy behar had mentioned her maiden named sounded japanese and then there was a *jump*. there was laughter where there wasn't a joke. it was weird.

the video has been taken off the view video site. but it's been youtubed:



however, rosie o’donnell has apologized (sorta???) and answered some viewer questions re: the incident on her blog:

1) Rosie:
for someone who comes off to be so sensitive and aware of lgbt issues, why did you think it was alright to mock Chinese people and the language on The View (re:danny devito: ching chong …)???

it was not my intent to mock
just to say how odd it is
that danny drunk
was news all over the world
even in china

it was not meant to mock

2) hi rosie,
i thought your impression of the news in china was a little offensive! it’s ok, though, I still love you-

didnt mean it 2 b offensive
in any way

3) Rosie, what made you think it was okay to make fun of the way Chinese people speak?

the joke was about the danny devito drunk news
making headines all over the world
including china
just comedy folks
no intent 2 harm

peace

i dunno… ok, so she wasn’t trying to be offensive…

bottom line - it was racist thing to say and do, she should say so and she should apologize on the view since that’s where it happened.

and apparently, adam corolla gets together with guy aoki because he wants to help... whoa.

here's a great related post via tv guide's blogger, coggie. this especially rings true for me:

"When you grow up day after day of this, being blindsided by mindless cruelty, because you were born with features you can't cut out or facelift or transplant, you grow to develop a Pavlovian reflex-- similar to abused adults flinching when anyone raises their hands, because it cuts too close to home. It's a reflex I constantly have to fight. Constantly."

just so you know - ignorant people DO exist - here's proof (the bold is mine):

"Maybe I am utterly politically incorrect, but for the life of me I don't see how this would offend Chinese people. All Rosie did was mention that the DD story has gone international and imitated her version of a newscast in China. She wasn't exactly channeling Mickey Rooney in "Breakfast At Tiffany's." Chinese SOUNDS a certain way to our ears and she imitated it. She didn't hammer us with a stack of stereotypes. "


UPDATE 12/9:

rosie's rep says "i certainly hope that one day they will be able grasp her humor." via TMZ.com and the NY Post

i say, WHAT THE F*CK!? this has nothing to do with whether or not she's funny. it has everything to do with her saying something racist and inappropriate and not admitting to it or apologizing for it. by brushing it off, she's basically saying, "hey everybody, it's okay to mock asians with ching chong. you're not racist. they're just being too sensitive."

UPDATE 12/10:

no emails from rosie or barbara.

racialicious has a new post up about guy aoki and adam corolla joining forces which reinforces what angry asian man had to say about it. and people are still talking about rosie even though she has a LOT of defenders, i'm glad the dialogue is still going.

reading a LOT about rosie, i've been reminded of the many times i was "ching chonged" or the experiences of friends of mine. i've read other bloggers similar stories too - like mama nabi's or hiromi's. i'm also reminded of the time when my stepsister was ching chonged and then beat up by a group of unknown white guys because they claimed she was "taking away their jobs".

i wonder when i'll be comforting my own children when they experience their first racist taunting. i just hope i'm there when it happens so, they're not alone.

UPDATE 12/11:

i keep forgetting to mention two things - the wikipedia entry for ching chong has been updated and i found this website where you can submit and discuss with others your own ching chong experience.

the new york daily news has this new article up.

i still haven't received any email responses from rosie or barbara.

i checked rosie's blog and found that although she's not taking any questions, she's still answering some. here are two:

"JP writes:

Hey Roside, why aren’t you getting your head out your butt and be more sensitive to Asian-Americans.Don’t post this message and see how you are hiding your true facade.You suck and need to get off tv.

go fuck urself jp"

(i'm very angry about rosie's racist remarks, but i'm not going to disrespect her because then i would be like her. don't be like rosie, people.)

"Leema writes:

U r a great role model. I respect ur courage. I’d like 2 know what makes u imitate a foregn language as a joke. It’d be funny if u knew how 2 speak it, it sounds racist and ignorant, which u r not.

i am irish
i do an irish accent - make drunk jokes - stgerotypes
this is comedy

i do many accents
and probably will continue to

my mom in law impression offends some southerners
what can u do

i come in peace"

UPDATE 12/11, 10:37 pm:

rosie has answered more questions/comments on her blog, but still nothing approaching an apology. if anything, there are more comments in support of her than against her. i can only wonder how many questions/comments she's hiding. basically, she says a) she didn't mean to offend anyone b) she's ignoring us c) she thinks we're blowing this way out of proportion and that our reactions are "odd" :

"Chao writes:
Rosie - I am very appalled at your comments on The View regarding Asian people. They were so insensitive and hurtful. How can you possibly explain this and what can you say to help heal my wounds?

sorry u were offended chao
it was not my intent

Beth writes:
It’s so silly that Bill O’Reilly is having a segment on how you angered the Asians -you didn’t do anything at all - you were saying how silly it is that Devito became world news! Don’t listen to them!
i dont

toni writes:
Ro, I can not believe that the Chinese are mad at you about a JOKE!!! Oh My God, lighten up people. Bill O’Reilly even stood up for you tonight on “The Factor”! Calm down people it was just a joke!
go bill

Yves writes:
Rosie-I don’t see the big deal about the Chinese routine. You’ve done English accents before on TV and the Brits didn’t get bent out of shape. They took it out of context and they need to chill.
the whole thing is odd 2 me

Max writes:
I’m a hypersensitive politically correct leftist. I checked out YouTube to see what the fuss was about. Give me a break! You were speaking Gibberish to symbolize a language you didn’t know. So what?!
so what is right

Hiroyuki writes:
Rosie, Till this latest incident I was on your side. How could you use racist stereotyping? If what you say in the past is true, what you say in the unguarded is true - then I guess you are a racist
come on hirou gotta be kidding"

this is the problem that i have, rosie. i imagine that the majority of the audience of the view are "1 million bored housewives" and like me, many of those bored housewives have kids. since viewing and applauding and approving your racist ching chonging, those 1 million bored housewives are turning to their children and tsk-tsking "those asians" who are much too sensitive, have no sense of humor and are "a-ok!" to make fun of per rosie.... THAT'S what i have a problem with. and the thing is - i'm not saying it would have happened whether or not you'd stuck your foot so far up your mouth that you were cleaning your ears. but now that you have, you've only made the problem that much worse. you've only made more work for mothers of color like me. THAT is why i'm upset. THAT is why i demand an apology to be said in front of that cheering and applauding public that supports you so wholeheartedly. rosie, just an fyi - these people were laughing and applauding with their children too.

i haven't seen any alerts for any campaigns so i urge you to complain and demand an apology. (it could happen - details magazine apologized. shaquille o'neil apologized. adam corolla apologized.)

abc television has it's own contact form here. and you can write or phone:
ABC, Inc. 500 S. Buena Vista Street Burbank, CA 91521-4551 (818) 460-7477

lastly, i'm going to tivo that bill o'reilly re-broadcast with john liu. a recap of it should be up on his website by midday tomorrow if you missed the original broadcast like me.

UPDATE 12/12:

i was curious about rosie's rep cindi berger (who also reps barbara walters, mariah carey, jessica simpson and the dixie chicks). i found an old article about rosie and cindi and spinning media hype. here's cindi's contact info by the way, if you want to complain to her directly too:

Cindi Berger, PMK/HBH Public Relations, (212) 373-6118, cindi.berger@pmkhbh.com

i just saw this depressing thread of comments on a post from gothamist. this sh*t just leaves me speechless. it's weird that people think this kind of taunting only happens to children - and like that's NOT a bad thing.... as if we somehow "forgive and forget". newsflash america - it doesn't stop when we grow up and so we can't forget.

the porkchop just went down for a morning nap. so, i'm just about to watch the bill o'reilly from last night. *rolls eyes*

UPDATE 12/12, 10:42 pm:

it's late and i've had a long day, but i had to check in... sorry in advance, if the following post is fuzzy...

i watched the factor from last night and was SO disappointed. bill o'reilly really couldn't see the reason for the outrage in the asian american community. and although john liu did a good job of voicing the collective opinion(s), i just don't think he was as tough as he should've been. it almost seemed like he backed off further and further into the interview. towards the end, he said something like, "i don't blame rosie. i blame barbara." WHAT!?

two things that stood out to me... 1) bill o'reilly thought it was just chinese people who were upset about this - a sentiment that is common in comment threads. that doesn't surprise me but, does he really think that the average non-asian can tell which asians are chinese or not? 2) bill o'reilly suggested that the view interview john liu and other asians on their show. i say, "YES!!!"

when i watched the view today, i was disappointed again to find that there was no apology offered even though a) all the ladies were talking about the importance of religious equality and that the seattle airport should have representations of kwanzaa and ramadan in addition to the christmas tree and the menorah and b) barbara actually brought up danny devito AGAIN.

rosie answered some more questions/comments on her blog and added a mini pseudo apology:

"Ben writes:

If the joke were about fat people and instead went: “Fat people around the world heard it. They probably said, ‘Gobble gobble, munch munch, DeVito, drunk, munch view, gobble”.’ Would it offend you?

well
it would offend me
as it makes no sense

but the joke was about
the abusrdity
of danny devito drunk on the view
being INTERNATIONAL NEWS
then the offensive ching chong
and we’re off 2 the races

Ploy writes:

Did you really think that chinese bit was funny? Going “ching chong” is exactely how people degraded and mocked my family all our lives. It’s distasteful and it hurts me that it comes from you.

i am sorry it hurt u poly
all the people who made fun of u
in a negative way
for being who u r

my bad accent was not meant to insult or degrade
linguistic incompetence - guilty
mocking - never

mel writes:

i love you rosie and i’m not offended by your asian joke but the reason people are is because you weren’t doing an accent. you weren’t speaking actual chinese, just mocking their speech.

i wasnt mocking
thats my best impression
accents r tough
on the whole

Catherine writes:

U r an advocate for the gay community. U r a full-figured woman in a culture that doesn’t embrace it. Shame you can’t look beyond your world to try to understand the grievances of others.

but i do
cath
really - i do

denise writes:

Rosie you would have had a cow if someone did what you did to the chinese about Gay people. For Shame.

like someone doing a gay guy with a lisp
like i do
a lot

4 shame back at ya"

UPDATE 12/13:

rosie is taking questions again here.

she's also answering more questions/comments and on a positive note, she says "i will b more sensitive / promise". see below:

Sarah writes:

So I guess it’s ok if I make GAY jokes if I call myself a comedian? RIGHT.

You have a lot of nerve blowing off your Asian joke considering how damn sensitive you are about GAYS.

FAT ASS

my ass isnt fat
its my stomach
sweet sarah - i sould like a delightful woman

John writes:

Miss O’Donnell, I was wondering when your public apology for insulting the Asian American community will be? P.S. I will make it my personal vendetta to make this public to everyone I know.

do ur best john

go in peace

Ben writes:

You say how you dont understand what the fuss is about, but its hard 2 understand w/o having grown up Asian. Imagine a derogatory gay joke. If YOU got bent outta shape about it, I WOULD understand…

ben
i am sorry it hurt u
i didnt think of it the way it was taken
i will b more sensitive
promise"



WHOA! i'm watching the view and i think joy just said that they're going to bring up the whole "rosie hates asians" thing on the second half of their "hot topics" segment!

nevermind... joy just meant they were going to talk more about whatever they were blathering on about in the second segment...

ha! apparently, bette midler's daughter is studying in china and she just came back from an enjoyable visit there and she said something like you guys better watch out 'cause i think they're going to all be showing up here tomorrow. to which rosie had nothing to say... which got me thinking - the following people are going to be on the view in the next couple of days. i think we should make sure they know about rosie's ching chong. maybe they can ask her about it on the show...

dari alexander
susan sarandon
fantasia
julianne moore
gladys knight

UPDATE 12/14:

ROSIE APOLOGIZED JUST NOW!

apparently, elizabeth is seeing an acupuncturist. and the brought up the subject of rosie's ching chong to elizabeth. THANK YOU ELIZABETH'S ACUPUNCTURIST!!!!! right after she said that, rosie says, "ok. we have to talk about this." and she went on to describe what happened they even played the ching chong clip again. rosie says that she didn't know it was offensive. she asked asian people she worked with and they told her that yes it was offensive. she apologized BUT she did say that she might say something like it again (can you BE any more VAGUE, rosie?) because that's how her mind works.

then... THEN, i almost wanted to strangle someone. first of all, joy behar seems pretty dismissive of the whole thing. then, either she or rosie says something like," are there any asians in the audience?" and two women in a front row wave. joy asks them if they were offended and they go "NO!" and clap and say "it was really funny".

WTF!!!??? were they planted there or something???

anyway... they're still talking about it. i'm sure the clip will show up soon. i have it tivo'd if someone can explain to me how to get a tivo program up, i'll happily do it.

here you go... the apology in all its lameness...



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

here's a list of blogs who have posts about rosie's ching chong act:

reappropriate
once you go asian(NSFW)
seriouslyomgwtf
alldaynet
celebrity satan
tv squad
paxalles
no man's blog
redolence
macsmind
michelle malkin
bravotv
inteligentaindigena
brilliant but cancelled
suburbarazzi
newsbusters
racialicious
crocodile caucus
the think
yellow americans
zuky
gawker


honestly, im not able to keep up with all the blogs that are posting about this. so, PLEASE let me know which ones i missed! THANKS!