The 'Star Trek' actor claims the Asian Americans have become 'foreigners' and suffered 'verbal and physical abuse' as well as racism amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Apr 24, 2020
AceShowbiz - John Cho has opened up on the "verbal and physical abuse" being directed at Asian Americans during the coronavirus crisis.
The "Star Trek" actor, 47, who was born in South Korea but raised in the U.S., penned a powerful essay for the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, April 22, 2020, revealing he called his parents "to tell them to be cautious when stepping out of the house" during the public health crisis.
Implying that reports suggesting Covid-19 originated in the city of Wuhan, China were to blame for the abuse, he insisted, "Across the country, Asian American parents and children are making versions of the call I made."
"Friends are sharing first-hand accounts of abuse on text chains and circulating articles on Facebook, always ending with the suddenly ominous 'stay safe.' "
Cho went on to share that, upon becoming an actor, he would experience moments where his race would be a topic of discussion, and compared recent incidents to abuse his "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle" co-star Kal Penn received following the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, New York in 2001.
"Asian Americans are experiencing such a moment right now. The pandemic is reminding us that our belonging is conditional. One moment we are Americans, the next we are all foreigners, who 'brought' the virus here," he added. "It makes people - including us - think that anti-Asian sentiment is somehow less serious, that it's racism lite... (it) allows us to dismiss the current wave of Asian hate crimes as trivial, isolated and unimportant."
The "Gemini" actor continued, "If the coronavirus has taught us anything, it's that the solution to a widespread problem cannot be patchwork. Never has our interconnectedness and our reliance on each other been plainer."
"Please don't minimise the hate or assume it's somewhere far away. It's happening close to you," he pleaded, closing the piece. "If you see it on the street, say something. If you hear it at work, say something. If you sense it in your family, say something. Stand up for your fellow Americans."
