Naomi Osaka has become the latest celebrity to speak out against anti-Asian hate after a spike in the number of violent attacks during Covid.
The world number two, who is both Japanese and Haitian, called out out those who ‘profit or enjoy’ various aspects of Asian culture but do not ‘support the ethnic group that created it’.
On Instagram, the 23-year-old shared a photo of her recent tweet, where she wrote, ‘If people loved Asian people as much as they love bubble tea, anime, mochi, sushi, matcha, etc.
‘Imagine profiting/enjoying things that come from a culture and then attacking/diminishing the ethnic group that created it.’
The world number two, who is both Japanese and Haitian, shared a Twitter post calling out those who ‘profit or enjoy’ various aspects of Asian culture but do not ‘support the ethnic group that created it’ as she shared the hashtag ‘StopAsianHate’
In the caption, the 23-year-old continued, ‘#StopAsianHate. It’s really sad that this even has to be a hashtag/slogan.
‘It should be common sense, but it seems like common sense is uncommon in this world now,’ she concluded.
Osaka, who has won four grand slams and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles, also appeared in a video from the Women’s Tennis Association alongside fellow stars to share their support for the Asian Americans and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.
A recent report released by Stop AAPI Hate revealed that there have been at least 3,795 hate incidents targeting the group from March 19, 2020, to Feb. 28, 2021. More than 500 of those incidences occurred in 2021.
A separate study of police statistics recently showed hate crimes against Asian Americans rose by nearly 150 percent in 2020. This was despite hate crimes overall dropping by 7 percent.
There have also been a large number of incidents in other countries, including by people attacking Chinese immigrants over Beijing’s alleged cover-up of the Covid pandemic.
Osaka has won four grand slams and is the first Asian player to hold the top ranking in singles
Osaka has previously spoken out against anti-Asian hate crimes during the Covid pandemic
Last month, Osaka took to Twitter to claim that hate crimes against Asian people were not being widely covered in the media.
‘The amount of hate, racism, and blame for COVID towards the Asian community is disgusting,’ she tweeted in February. ‘The fact that this topic is not very widely covered makes me concerned. I only found videos and information because I was scrolling through my IG feed and by some algorithm it appeared.’
‘And while I’m here- saying ”Ching Chong” and ”shrimp fried rice” when talking about/to [an] Asian person isn’t cool. You aren’t funny, it’s not a joke and you’re beyond pathetic,’ she added in a separate tweet.
It comes as Saturday Night Live cast member Bowen Yang was praised for an emotional speech calling on Americans to ‘do more’ to tackle anti-Asian hate crime after a string of violent racist incidents.
The comedian, 30, spoke of a ‘bleak’ two weeks for American Asians, which has seen six Asian women shot dead in a string of shootings at Atlanta spas and a grandmother beating off a racist attacker with a stick in San Francisco.
Describing the 76-year-old’s experience, he said things were ‘insanely bad’ for Asians before adding: ‘I’m just a comedian, I don’t have the answers, but I’m not just looking for them online – I’m looking around me.’
His speech was widely shared online, with fans calling him a ‘legend’ and many repeating a Mandarin cheer that he mentioned which means ‘fuel up’.
SNL cast member Bowen Yang spoke of a ‘bleak’ two weeks for American Asians in a segment this weekend
At the start of the segment, Weekend Update co-anchor Colin Jost introduced Yang as the sketch show’s ‘Asian cast member,’ prompting him to ask, ‘Wait, is that my official title?’
‘That’s how you told me to introduce you!’ Jost said.
‘Yeah, I set your a** up,’ Yang joked. ‘It feels good.’
Yang, who is SNL’s first Asian cast member, described how ‘things for Asians in this country have been bleak for the past two weeks, and all the weeks before that since forever.’
He went on to share tongue-in-cheek ways to help, including telling Asian friends ‘they’re so hot’ and to ‘amplify these Asian voices who want more Paneras in North Brooklyn’.
Turning to a more serious note, he continued: ‘What can I say to help how insanely bad things are?. If someone’s personality is punch an Asian grandma, it’s not a dialogue. I have an Asian grandma, you want to punch her. There ain’t no common ground, mama.’
Yang welcomed his friends donating to a Go Fund Me appeal for the grandmother but said they should take things further.
‘Why are you telling me that you tipped your manicurist well? Let me know when you get on your knees and scrub her feet while she looks at your phone. Do more.’
Later he continued: ‘I’m just a comedian. I don’t have the answers, but I’m not just looking for them online. I’m looking around me.’
Earlier this month eight people – including six Asian women – were shot dead in a string of shootings at Atlanta spas including the Gold Spa (pictured)
His speech was widely shared online, with fans calling him a ‘legend’ and many repeating a Mandarin cheer that he mentioned which means ‘fuel up’
After telling the story of Xiao Zhen Xie, the San Francisco grandmother who beat off a racist attacker with a stick and now plans to give the nearly $1m she was donated by well-wishers to tackle hate crime, Yang said: ‘That’s where we are as Asians. Now come meet us there.’
He ended his appearance on a more optimistic note, telling the audience about a Mandarin cheer that means ‘fuel up.’
‘I don’t know what’s helpful to say to everyone, but that’s what I say to myself,’ he said. ‘Fuel up. Do more. It’s the year of the metal ox, which basically means a car. So everyone, get in, buckle up! It’s no pee breaks! We ride at dawn, grandmas!’
The speech was greeted with a wild reception on Twitter, with Daniel Dae Kim tweeting: ‘Thank you, Bowen Yang and @SNL. Yes, we’re fueling up!’
Akilah Hughes wrote: ‘Bowen Yang is a legend.’
The speech was greeted with a wild reception on Twitter, with Daniel Dae Kim tweeting: ‘Thank you, Bowen Yang and @SNL. Yes, we’re fueling up!’
Andrew Phung said: ‘Bowen Yang is Crown! Thank you for your honest words, and needed laughs. Meet the Asian community where we’re at. FUEL UP AND DO MORE!’
Naomi Ekperigin posted: ‘Bowen Yang is the truth and the light!!!!!!!!!!’
And a Twitter user who gave her name only as Nadia added: ‘Every single person needs to listen to what Bowen Yang is saying.’
Anti-Asian hate incidents have increased during the pandemic. Between March 2020 and February 2021, there were nearly 3,800 anti-Asian racist incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate, according to Today.com.
Yesterday, one official in West Chester Township, Ohio, took a unique step in combating anti-Asian sentiment, stripping off his shirt during a town hall meeting to show scars from war.
The official made his daring gambit as anti-Asian violence continues to rise in the United States, including a mass shooting in Atlanta that took eight lives, six of whom were Asian women.
Investigators are still looking into whether the suspect in that case will be charged with a hate crime.
Lee Wong, 69, a Board of Trustees member of the town, was in a meeting on Tuesday night when he decided to display the effects fighting for the U.S. Army had on his body.
On March 18, grandmother Xiao Zhen Xie was attacked in San Francisco by a white man in his 30s, but she was able to fight him off with a wooden stick and ended up putting her assailant in the hospital.
In New York City, a 25-year-old Asian woman was urinated on in two separate incidents that occurred just days apart in the subway.
Chinese immigrant grandmother, 76, who beat racist attacker with a stick and now vows to give her $900,000 GoFundMe donations to San Francisco’s Asian-American
In his segment, Bowen Yang referenced the case of Xiao Zhen Xie, who beat a racist attacker with a stick before vowing to give the nearly $1million donated to her to San Francisco’s Asian-American community to help combat racism.
The 76-year-old fought back against a man who randomly attacked her on March 17, sending him to hospital covered in blood on a gurney.
At the time, Xie told San Francisco’s KPIX 5 that she was standing at a crossing on Market Street when 39-year-old Steven Jenkins punched her in the face and caused injuries to her eyes.
Xiao Zhen Xie, 76, has fought back against her attacker in San Francisco, leaving the much younger man with injuries that required a trip to the hospital
Xie said she found a nearby stick to defend herself and started pummelling him.
Well-wishers quickly raised thousands for Xie, with the current total standing just below $1m.
In an act of extraordinary generosity, her family said Sunday that the money raised would go elsewhere.
‘When we visited our grandma yesterday and today her overall mental and physical health has improved ,’ her grandson, John Chen, said on the fundraiser page.
Xiao Zhen Xie’s family announced Sunday that the money raised from the GoFundMe would be used elsewhere
