Asian-American groups meet Fox executives over ‘humour’ segment that mocked elderly Chinatown residents

The Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) and other advocacy groups have met officials from Fox News to discuss a segment in which Fox News’ Jesse Watters interviewed and ridiculed people in New York’s Chinatown about US politics and other matters.

The October 3 segment, widely panned as racist, played up commonly traded Asian stereotypes and subjected non-English-speaking passersby to Watters mockery.

The backlash was strong, as critics on social media and elsewhere took issue with the particulars of the video as well as the sensibilities that drove it. “The segment was billed as a report on Chinese Americans’ views on the US presidential election but it was rife with racist stereotypes, drew on thoughtless tropes and openly ridiculed Asian Americans,” reads a statement from AAJA.

The organisation demanded an apology. On Twitter, Watters himself said: “My man-on-the-street interviews are meant to be taken as tongue-in-cheek and I regret if anyone found offence.”

In an interview with colleague Chris Wallace, Bill O’Reilly - Watters’ boss - said that complaints about the bit were the work of an “organised campaign,” said O’Reilly.

However, he admitted that “there were a few things in there I felt were over the line. The old lady, I would have taken that out”, referring to Watters treatment of a non-English-speaking passerby.