Asian-American news anchor Michelle Li criticised for being ‘very Asian’
- Michelle Li, who is of Korean descent, is a news anchor at St Louis television station KSDK-TV
- Viewer called station to complain about Li liking dumpling soup in New Year’s Day segment about food
A news anchor at a St Louis television station received an outpouring of support from around the world after a viewer criticised her for “being very Asian” and told her to “keep her Korean to herself”.
Michelle Li, an anchor at KSDK-TV, did a 30-second segment on New Year’s Day about foods people eat for the holiday. She finished with an impromptu comment that she ate dumpling soup like many Koreans do.
A viewer left a message saying she “kind of took offence” to the comment because, she suggested, a white anchor would get fired for talking about what white people eat on New Year’s.
Li, who is of Korean descent, was raised by white parents in Missouri. She said in a post on KSDK that she reconnected with her Korean family in 1998 and has incorporated Korean culture into her life since then.
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On Tuesday, Li announced that she and Gia Vang, who is Hmong and an anchor on KARE in Minneapolis, were offering a line of merchandise with the logo “Very Asian” for a limited time, with proceeds going to the Asian-American Journalists Association.
In her post on her station’s website, Li said the racist post turned out to be gift because it led so many people to share family pictures and stories on social media.
“There is more good than bad,” she said.
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KSDK said in a statement that it fully supports Li.
“At KSDK, we embrace diversity in the people we hire, the stories we tell, and our local community. We will continue supporting Michelle and celebrating diversity and inclusion,” the station said.
