Justice

The Terrible Reason Steve Harvey's 'Jokes' About Asian Men Are Going Viral

January 12th 2017

Steve Harvey isn't getting many laughs for his offensive jokes about Asian men. 

Harvey started by talking about the book "How to Date a White Woman: a Practical Guide for Asian Men," then played out a white woman's response.

"Excuse me, do you like Asian men?" he asked.

"No," Harvey answered for the imaginary white woman.

"Thank you."

He then he went into a string of jokes mocking the concept of dating any Asian men in the first place. 

"'How to Date a Black Woman: a Practical Guide for Asian Men,'" said Harvey, "Same thing, it's the same thing." 

The bad joke continued with Harvey crafting a response for black women. 

"I don't even eat Chinese food boy, It don't stay with you no time," he said in character as a stereotypical black woman. "I don't eat what I can't pronounce." 

People on social media were outraged at Harvey's comments.

The popular Facebook blog "The Love Life of an Asian Guy" made a post about the offensive "jokes," blasting Harvey for his portrayal of Asian men and it's reinforcement of white supremacy in both the Asian and black communities. 

"If Blackness is stereotyped as physically gifted but mentally challenged, then Asians are depicted as mentally gifted and physically challenged. In the case of Steve Harvey, he didn't just buy into the stereotype, he emptied his wallet and got everyone who clapped a chance to pitch in. The joke that Asian men are undatable is a white supremacist concept started during Chinese exclusion to prevent white women from dating 'these foreigners.'"

Harvey's comment reinforce stereotypes about Asian men as "unsexy." 

American women say Asian men are less attractive than any other race, and Hollywood plays into this sentiment by often casting Asian men as nerds. 

RELATED: Myths About Asian Women That Make Dating Difficult

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