NY State Senator Tells Fox News Correspondent ‘Don’t Come Back’ to His District After Racist Segment
‘Welcome to My District — Hope You Don’t Come Back’
Jesse Watters’ racist mocking of the inhabitants New York City’s Chinatown did not go unnoticed by the New York state senator who represents the iconic Manhattan neighborhood. Sen. Daniel Squadron offered the Fox News correspondent and self-described “political humorist” a public rebuke via Twitter:
.@jessebwatters segment in Chinatown offensive & unacceptable. Welcome to my district — hope you don’t come back. https://t.co/pvgQFNhCKU
— Daniel Squadron (@DanielSquadron) October 5, 2016
Monday night a segment of “Watters World” aired on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor.” The almost five-minute clip is racist, anti-Asian, and downright offensive.
Vox’s Libby Nelson put it this way: “Fox News fit an impressive number of offensive Asian stereotypes into 5 minutes.”
“What Watters was really doing was making fun of the people he encountered with the broadest, dumbest Asian stereotypes imaginable — making it clear they were there as props for him and his viewers for what he clearly considered a hilarious joke, rather than to actually give their opinions,” Nelson writes.
The clip also adds subtitles to a man’s remarks, despite that he’s speaking English, albeit with an accent.
Here’s the segment:
Others on Twitter shared their upset:
Wow. That O’Reilly/Watters piece on NY Chinatown fulfilled today’s racist garbage quotient.
— Helen Gym (@HelenGym2015) October 5, 2016
Shocker: Fox News declines to comment on that racist Chinatown segment from Jesse Watters/O’Reilly. https://t.co/aCaU3EO6EU
— Suzy Khimm (@SuzyKhimm) October 5, 2016
One of the most racist things I’ve seen in my life. Fox News spending 10 MINUTES making fun of Asian people.https://t.co/SUEcZHozTR
— Brianna Wu (@Spacekatgal) October 5, 2016
Have this racist Jesse Watters from #theoreillyfactor come find me in Chinatown, I’ll show him how pathetic he is. https://t.co/xZfOL8fZyZ
— t°ffany (@FLUFFYEGGPLANTS) October 5, 2016
On his Facebook page, viewers let loose:
Here’s how Watters defended his segment, at first:
As a political humorist, the Chinatown segment was intended to be a light piece, as all Watters World segments are.
— Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) October 5, 2016
Watters has since announced he regrets “if anyone found offense”:
My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offense.
— Jesse Watters (@jessebwatters) October 5, 2016

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