I've wondered from the first moment I saw Rep. Pete Hoekstra's "Yellow Peril"-bashing Super Bowl about how much shame its star must now be feeling; it turns out that my suspicions were right.
Her name is Lisa Chan. Yes, she is an adult and she has made her own choices. But as a father -- of Asian girls, if it matters -- I am still heartsick at what was done to her and thunderstruck at the fact that whoever cast her to star in this role got away with it without repercussions.
They had to be aware of the likelihood that they were destroying her career -- and possibly her stature within the Asian-American community itself. And they just ... did ... not ... care.
This was an abusive relationship between rich employer and poorer employee -- and Lisa Chan was used, abused, and discarded by Pete Hoekstra and his servants.
Today, she issued an eloquent and moving apology. If you haven't read it, I hope that you will.
I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities. As a recent college grad who has spent time working to improve communities and empower those without a voice, this role is not in any way representative of who I am. It was absolutely a mistake on my part and one that, over time, I hope can be forgiven. I feel horrible about my participation and I am determined to resolve my actions.
(I know that this was mentioned in the Midday Open Thread, but I thought that it warrants even more notice, in case others have, like me, been wondering about this actress.)
Here's the YouTube video -- broadcast during the Super Bowl in the state of Michigan -- containing what is now Lisa Chan's most famous work as an actress:
This is one hard-hitting ad -- and the hardest hit may have been the one aimed at Lisa Chan's career.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra of Michigan, who is running for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Debbie Stabenow, is (judging by his lack of apology) perfectly happy with the reception that this ad has received. He is, after all, running against a Tea Party candidate for the Republican nomination, and the more of a xenophobic know-nothing he can portray himself as being, the better off with the primary electorate he probably is. (The general public has been treating him a bit worse.)
I don't know what information Ms. Chan had about the ad before agreeing to star in it. Actors sometimes aren't given a whole lot of information; perhaps she had no idea of the prominence it would receive (and it is unlikely that she had an inkling of its likely notoriety.) And novice actors, starving for any role, end up doing all kinds of things. But this -- well, to this adult with daughters both older and younger than Ms. Chan appears to be -- this is pretty breathtaking.
All's fair in love and war, I suppose, and politics has elements of both. I am just happy, as a parent of four Asian daughters and one son, that Ms. Chan has recaptured some of her dignity with this heartfelt apology. This isn't just playing some racially stereotypical character in a third-rate direct-to-video chopsocky movie. This is aiming a blow at one's own culture's windpipe.
There are lots of rational objections to many of China's actions in our world economy and out political system; there are lots of reasonable responses to it. "Let's stoke more racism against my own people" is not among them.
What I hope that some arm of the Democratic Party will do this year is to make a short ad of the real Lisa Chan, as herself, giving her the opportunity to say how she felt she was abused and to call for greater racial understanding. It might be good politics, sure. It would be even better as a way to undo this wrong.
With her apology, Lisa Chan deserves to be forgiven. But even more than that, she deserves to be pissed.