Jay Leno Apologizes to Asian-Americans For ‘Racist’ Jokes | 22 Words

Beloved TV host and comedian Jay Leno has issued an apology to the Asian American community for his long history of "racist" jokes made against them, which comes just weeks after the devastating attack made on the Asian community in Atlanta.

Though his "apology" hasn't gone down well with people. Scroll on to find out why...

On the evening of March 16th, twenty-one-year-old Robert Aaron Long went to 3 local spas and shot dead 8 innocent people in Cherokee and Fulcon County, Atlanta.

Crisp County Sherrif's Office

As per the New York Times, 4 people died in the first shooting at Young's Asian Massage, which was reported at around 5 pm. Just a short while later, Long targeted the Gold Spa where he shot dead 3 women.

Shots were then fired nearby at the Aromatherapy Spa, where the body of another woman was found; 8 people in total tragically died.

The names of the victims have since been released to the public:

Delaina Ashley Yaun thirty-three, Paul Andre Michels, fifty-four, Xiaojie Yan, forty-nine, Daoyou Feng, forty-four, Hyun Jung Grant, fifty-one, Suncha Kim, sixty-nine, Yong Yue, sixty-three, and Soon Chung Park, seventy-four.

All of these victims have left behind family and loved ones...

And alongside them, the entire world is mourning their untimely and tragic deaths.

Long was arrested a few hours after the shootings following a manhunt...

And although he is now in police custody facing 8 charges of murder and a charge of aggravated assault, people are feeling angrier than ever.

Many have been taking to social media to share their shock and heartbreak over the attack...

Alongside their anger over how yet another shooting has been allowed to take place here in America.

It's clear that many strongly believe this was a racially motivated attack...

And people have been rallying together both on the streets and online in protest of this kind of terrorism and, of course, to demand justice for America's Asian communities and the victims who lost their lives in this ruthless attack.

People are angry...

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Because there's absolutely no doubt that our country has had a huge problem with racism and prejudice against the Asian American community for decades now.

This kind of racism sadly comes in many forms...

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Ranging from physical violence to seemingly "harmless" jokes made online and on television.

Well, this is what has landed Jay Leno in quite a bit of trouble recently...

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Which has forced him to apologize directly to the Asian American community.

But it hasn't sat well with people...

This pressure has been building on the comedian for years now.

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As per the Hollywood Reporter, Leno recently participated in a Zoom meeting with several leaders of the Media Action Network For Asian Americans and offered his apologies to the Asian community for various jokes made at their expense across his long tenure on TV.

During the call, Leno issued an apology for a long history of targeting Asian people and stereotypes for jokes, stretching all the way back to his near-two-decade run on The Tonight Show...

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And inclusive of a 2019 incident in which he made an offensive joke about Korean people during a filming of America's Got Talent:

"At the time, there was a prevailing attitude that some group is always complaining about something, so don't worry about it. Whenever we received a complaint, there would be two sides to the discussion: either 'We need to deal with this' or 'Screw 'em if they can't take a joke.' Too many times I sided with the latter, even when in my heart I knew it was wrong."

He added:

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"I do not consider this particular case to be another example of cancel culture, but a legitimate wrong that was done on my part. MANAA has been very gracious in accepting my apology. I hope that the Asian American community will be able to accept it as well, and I hope I can live up to their expectations in the future."

What do you think?

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Do you think Leno's apology is genuine? Or do you think it doesn't make up for years of racist jokes being made against a community that have suffered so much?

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