Fox Says No to Re-Shooting Seth MacFarlane Pilot That Offended Asian-American Group

Fox has declined to re-shoot the pilot episode of its upcoming comedy series Dads, despite requests from an Asian-American group that singled out several scenes as racially insensitive.

Earlier this week, the Media Action Network for Asian-Americans (MANAA) sent a letter to Fox demanding the re-shoot of scenes that include references to Asian people as “Orientals” and include actress Brenda Song dressed up in a stereotypical “sexy Asian schoolgirl” garb.

Responding to MANAA’s letter, Fox chief operating officer Joe Earley and entertainment chairman Kevin Reilly emphasized that while they “understand” the group’s concerns, comedy is “subjective” and that the Seth MacFarlane-created show “will be evocative and will poke fun at stereotypes and bigotries — sometimes through over-the-top, ridiculous situations.”

The network also urged MANAA to see the show in a longer format before judging its characters as racially insensitive:

“You were clear that you don’t feel the need to give the show time to develop, based on your experience with another show on another network, but we will continue to ask you to do just that. You will see that Brenda Song’s character is a strong, intelligent, empowered young woman who basically runs the company, and who almost always gets the upper hand on the guys.”

Full report here, via The Wrap.

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