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Statement on Rosie O'Donnell's racial comments on ABC's "The View"

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Gothamist Rosie O'Donnell apologizes San Francisco Chronicle (12-14) 10:26 PST LOS ANGELES -- Comedian Rosie O'Donnell, a regular on the television talk show "The View," apologized this morning for mocking spoken ... Rosie O'Donnell Sort Of Apologizes for Racist Remarks National Ledger Rosie O'Donnell Apologizes For Her Fake Chinese Gothamist More news articles » O'Donnell's mockery of Chinese is no joke Dallas Morning News Rosie O'Donnell said she was just making a joke on The View last week. But few Asian-Americans found humor in her words. While talking ... Gothamist Asian American advocates decry parody by TV's O'Donnell San Francisco Chronicle Ever since comedian Rosie O'Donnell mocked spoken Chinese, repeating "ching chong" over and over on "The View" talk show, a video clip of her performance ... Asian group hits O'Donnell over 'ching chong' impression Raw Story Rosie O’Donnell Creates Controversy on The View TV Envy U.S. Newswire (press release) Defamer.com Rosie O'Donnell Will Not Let A Few Angry Asians Spoil The 'Ching ... Defamer.com, CA  When Rosie O'Donnell was describing on a recent installment of The View how Danny DeVito's adorably soused appearance on the show had made international ... Monsters and Critics.com Rosie O'Donnell: Lighten up Asians Monsters and Critics.com, UK Rosie O'Donnell, quickly taking over The View as the chief doyenne and talker of all talkers, has taken on the Asian population after some controversial ... Rosie O'Donnell's Racist Rant NewsBusters On the December 5th edition of The View, O’Donnell universally mocked the Asian community when she attempted to feign a Chinese accent. ... New York Post ROSIE TO ASIANS: LOOSEN UP New York Post, NY December 9 -- HEY, all you Chinese-speakers out there in TV land - Rosie O'Donnell thinks you should get a sense of humor! ...

The offensive behavior displayed by "The View" co-host Rosie O'Donnell in attempting to mimic the Chinese language reflects poorly on ABC Daytime and the show's producer, ABC News correspondent Barbara Walters.

UNITY: Journalists of Color represents more than 10,000 journalists nationwide from diverse ethnic and racial backgrounds, including Chinese American.

In one brief action, O'Donnell and "The View" not only offended Chinese Americans, but all of UNITY's partner organizations: the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.

"The View" offers robust commentary on issues of the day, which viewers tune in to learn what the show's high-profile women think about these topics. When one of the co-hosts demeans and mocks the language of an entire race of people on national television, it warrants an explanation by the show's producer at least, and by the network at most.

UNITY recognizes that while O'Donnell is an entertainer and not a broadcast journalist, her producer is one. As producer, Walters should publicly acknowledge that O'Donnell's remarks were patently offensive and that such insults should have no place on the public airwaves.

By allowing O'Donnell's cheap jab at Chinese Americans to go unchecked, the network is essentially condoning racial and ethnic slurs.

It's a practice that should not be tolerated in today's diverse society.

That's our view.
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About UNITY: Journalists of Color
UNITY: Journalists of Color, Inc. is a strategic alliance advocating news coverage about people of color, and aggressively challenging its organizations at all levels to reflect the nation’s diversity. UNITY, representing more than 10,000 journalists of color, is comprised of four national associations: Asian American Journalists Association, National Association of Black Journalists, National Association of Hispanic Journalists, and the Native American Journalists Association.

In addition to planning the largest regular gathering of journalists in the nation, UNITY develops programs and institutional relationships that promote its mission. For more information on UNITY, visit www.unityjournalists.org, email info@unityjournalists.org or call (703) 854-3585.