Asian-American groups demand NBC cut ties with Jay Leno amid America's Got Talent investigation. The network will have to make some changes when it comes to the running of certain shows and the people behind them.
The whole incident regarding America’s Got Talent started on November 22nd, when NBC announced that both judges Gabrielle Union and Julianne Hough would not be returning to the show for season 15. According to multiple reports, Union's contract was not renewed due to reports of clashes that occurred behind the scenes. It was also reported that Union spoke to the show’s producers telling them she felt there were racial and gender concerns that made their workplace a toxic environment. Recently, many former NBC employees, such as Howard Stern and Sharon Osbourne, have commented on how it is the "ultimate boys club." Amid the allegations, America's Got Talent creator and executive producer Simon Cowell has beefed up his legal team, including a new high-profile Hollywood lawyer, in order to prepare for the legal battle that lies ahead.
Now two organizations that are committed to the inclusion and representation of Asian-American communities in the media have come forward to criticize comedian Jay Leno for his part in the situation. According to Variety, the Asian-Americans Advancing Justice and the Media Action Network for Asian-Americans called for NBC to sever any business ties with the once-popular late-night host. John C. Yang, the president and executive director of Advancing Justice, said in a statement to Variety, "Jay Leno is a repeat offender in denigrating a part of our Asian American community and it must stop." Yang said that Leno has a pattern of stereotyping Asians in his comedy sketches throughout his career and he believes this type of humor is "so toxic because it is intended to minimize a community and somehow make that community seem less civilized."
The joke that the groups have referred to was when Leno was a guest judge on America’s Got Talent and made a reference to Asians eating dog meat this past August. The joke was caught on camera while filming but was ultimately cut from the episode. Leno's joke, among other incidences, was used as an example for which Union described a toxic working environment. According to the organizations, Leno is a repeat offender when it comes to Asian culture and showed no remorse. According to the president of one of the organizations the Last Man Standing actor exhibited patterns of stereotyping Asians as he has used offensive stereotype before when he spoke about the Korean Olympic skater who lost the medal saying, “Kim Dong-sung was so upset, he went home, kicked his dog, then ate him!”
Leno's behavior paired with Union’s complaints of being given notes saying that her hairstyles are appearing too "black," and are being changed too many times. Whatever the motives were for Union's firing, no one should feel that their rights had been attacked or taken away from them while performing their job. Fans of the NBC show hope that the network can get to the bottom of these complaints and make a better function show from it. Audiences will have to wait and see if Leno will ever be asked back as a guest judge on America's Got Talent or any other NBC show, though right now it seems unlikely.
Source: Variety