Steve Harvey took to Twitter on Tuesday, January 17, to apologize for making jokes about Asian men attempting to date white women. The comments attracted a backlash after Harvey made the jokes — which were criticized as racist — during a segment of his show last week.
In a statement posted to Twitter, the talk show host shared: “I offer my humblest apology for offending anyone, particularly those in the Asian community, last week. It was not my intention and the humor was not meant with any malice or disrespect whatsoever.”
As previously reported, Harvey, who met with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss inner-cities on January 13, couldn’t contain his laughter while joking about an actual self-help book titled How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men during the opening of his January 6 show.
Imagining a faux-conversation between an Asian man and a white woman, Harvey mocked a mild-mannered Asian man asking: “‘Excuse me, do you like Asian men?’ ‘No.’ Okay, thank you.’” He went on to joke about Asian men then attempting to attract black women. “Same thing,” he said, still laughing. “‘You like Asian men?’ … ‘I don’t even like Chinese food. I don’t eat what I can’t pronounce.'”
Twitter was quick to slam the Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man author, with one user going as far as to say they’re more attracted to Asian men than Harvey, who they dubbed “a human Mr. Potato Head.”
