Veracity Stew
The young actress who appeared in Republican Pete Hoekstra’s racist Super Bowl ad has come out and publicly apologized on her Facebook page. 21 year-old actress Lisa Chan regrets her involvement in the commercial but offers no explanation for why she would place herself in such a vile video to begin with.
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.
It’s good to know that she recognizes — albeit after the fact — what an awful, harmful commercial this is. But honestly, it still leaves me with about a thousand questions. How did she get involved with this job in the first place? What did she know going into it? What was her reaction when she saw the finished ad? What was her reaction to the reaction?
Related articles
- The Upside of the Racist Hoekstra Ad (usnews.com)
- Actress in Hoekstra ad apologizes (politico.com)
- Follow Up of the Day: “Yellowgirl” Lisa Chan Apologizes For Racist Ad (thedailywh.at)
- WATCH: O’Donnell Forgives Former Target (huffingtonpost.com)
- Actress In Xenophobic Hoekstra Ad Apologizes (thinkprogress.org)
- Pete Hoekstra Ad Draws More Criticism, Called ‘Really, Really Dumb’ (kaystreet.wordpress.com)
- Lawrence O’Donnell Accepts Apology From Actress In Anti-China Hoekstra Ad: ‘She Did The Right Thing’ (mediaite.com)
- Pete Hoekstra Defends Racist Political Ad (crooksandliars.com)
A lot of actors and actresses get into demeaning roles when they start out. I suspect that it was as simple as taking an offer for some face-in-camera time.
I can understand people being angry with her, and I have nothing to say about it one way or the other. I’m more angry with the rich white guy who got her to make it and put it on the air. He, and the writers and others involved, are the real problem. He would have found an actress, after all. She’s not the real villain in the story.
I’m more angry with the rich white guy who got her to make it and put it on the air. He, and the writers and others involved, are the real problem. He would have found an actress, after all. She’s not the real villain in the story.
Point taken WK. You’re right!
Having said that, though, there was a Congressional candidate a couple of years ago — I think it was 2010, maybe 2008 — who had an ad about what terrorists look like. He compared them to himself or to an Arab actor in terrorist regalia.
I was wondering how any actor could do a thing like that at the time. I still think that the real bad guys are the people who make the commercials, but I wonder where the line is for the actor’s responsibility.
Here we go: