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Steve Harvey Under Fire Again, Mocks Asian Men

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 17:52 PST, Jan 11, 2017

Steve Harvey faces another backlash for mocking Asian men and saying they find it difficult to date women.

The actor and comedian was poking fun at self-help books on his talk show Monday night, according to the Daily Mail. The 59-year-old broke down in a fit of laughter when he read the title of one of the books: How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men. Harvey, after laughing for several seconds, had then asked the audience, “excuse me do you like Asian men?”

The television host meant it as a rhetorical question as he then bowed his head twice and said “No thank you” in a clipped accent. A camera panned to a woman in the audience who was seen laughing. The woman next to her had an indecisive expression etched on her face, probably shocked at what she just heard and not knowing how to react.

The comedian continued to poke fun at the book, published in 2002, saying that he wondered what would be inside the book. The three-time Daytime Emmy Award winner said the book would probably be only a page long, adding that he could not fathom women liking Asian men when he could not even stand Chinese food.

“I don’t even like Chinese food…It don’t stay with you no time. I don’t eat what I can’t pronounce.”

This latest outburst from the seemingly controversial comedian is coming just two weeks before he is set to host the Miss Universe pageant in the Philippines. The Philippines is home to the current Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach and is located in Southeast Asia.

Harvey hosted the esteemed event last December where he committed one of the biggest blunders ever on live television. There were two contestants left in the competition, but the Family Feud host went ahead to crown the wrong winner, Miss Ariadna Gutierrez of Colombia. Gutierrez had broken down in tears, waving and blowing kisses to the crowd as she was given a bouquet of flowers and had a crown placed on her head.

Amazingly, Harvey retracted his statement and announced that “the first runner-up is Colombia. Miss Universe 2015 is Miss Philippines.” His statement was met with hisses and boos from the audience as Wurtzbach was transfixed in shock as the crown was taken from Gutierrez’s head and placed on hers.

The daytime talk show host, speaking to Today, revealed he was ashamed over the incident and also angry. The bestselling author of Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man pointed out that it was not his mistake alone, adding that he had read what was on the teleprompter, only to be told something different in his ear piece.

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“I mean, I was ashamed for the mistake, but I was also a little angry… a lot of people could have stepped up and said, ‘I played a role in this, too you know. I made a mistake too,’ but nobody did.”

Despite his glaring error, Steve Harvey was asked back to host the televised event which will hold January 29.

His purported racist remarks against Asian men were slammed on The Angry Asian Man blog. A source speaking to Fusion said too much would not have been read into his remarks if he only poked fun at the title and did not single out Asian men. A study at the dating site OK Cupid pointed out that Asian men were finding it difficult to get dates on their site.

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Many Asian Americans also feel they are not adequately represented onscreen and by extension in Hollywood. However, there have been some TV memorable moments like Aziz Ansari’s Masters of None, Riz Ahmed in The Night Of, and Steven Yeun in The Walking Dead. Yeun was only the third Asian man to grace the cover of Entertainment Weekly.

This is not the first time that Harvey’s remarks would be putting him in hot water. According to the Inquisitr, the father of seven was captured on tape 20 years ago by a former employee, Joseph Cooper, saying he hated white people and urging minorities to spit and assault them. The 59-year-old has gone on to sue Cooper accusing him of trying to use the sensitive material to extort $ 5 million from him.

Harvey’s lawyers revealed that the Dallas man was peddling over 120 hours of tape and contacting people who were trying to work with the comedian to put pressure on him to part with cash. According to them, Cooper felt that they could influence Steve Harvey, who is reportedly worth $100 million, towards making the deal. Cooper created the tapes in March 1993 when he was asked to videotape Harvey’s act in his comedy club. Joseph Cooper had described Harvey as “the worst person that’s ever been on television,” and initially sued the television host for $20 million.

In court documents, the Family Feud host insisted that the material was made over 20 years ago when his stand-up comedy material was “a lot edgier.” According to him, he last performed stand-up comedy in August 2012 and had now gravitated towards more family-friendly material. The radio personality said he used material that was extremely funny, adding that he did not have to be conscious about his image or brand because he was a small-timer back then. Harvey is due in court January 23.

[Featured Image by Chris Pizello/AP Images]

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