On Wednesday night, “The Colbert Report” aired a segment mocking Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder, who, amid the controversy around the football team’s racist name, launched the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation in an effort to help Native Americans who are in need.
The irony, too rich for Stephen Colbert to ignore, led to a parody of Snyder’s Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation, Colbert’s Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever.
“Folks, this move by Dan Snyder inspires me, because my show has frequently come under attack for having a so-called offensive mascot,” said Colbert, maintaining his satirical right-wing character. “My beloved character Ching-Chong Ding-Dong … the point is, offensive or not (not) Ching-Chong is part of the unique heritage of the Colbert Nation that cannot change. But I’m willing to show the Asian community that I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever.”
On Thursday night, “The Colbert Report” tweeted this:
I am willing to show #Asian community I care by introducing the Ching-Chong Ding-Dong Foundation for Sensitivity to Orientals or Whatever.—
The Colbert Report (@ColbertReport) March 27, 2014
Activist Suey Park caught the tweet, now deleted, and called it racist. She started #CancelColbert in response:
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The hashtag caught on and trended to No. 1 in the U.S., as others joined Park’s outrage:
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Others called for added oversight when tweeting, and called the segment offensive:
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Some people responded, saying that Park missed the context of the joke — the target was Snyder, not the Asian community, and that this is a joke that has been done before:
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Slate’s Dave Weigel points out that there was no outrage after the segment aired — just the tweet:
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Others mocked the outrage:
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“The Colbert Report” has responded with this tweet:
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Stephen Colbert offered a lighthearted response, agreeing with Park’s “rage” at the tweet:
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