Good Trouble star Sherry Cola slammed Hollywood’s “lack of representation” of Asians, adding that it goes “hand in hand” with hate crimes committed against them.
Cola, who describes herself as “a proud Chinese immigrant,” expressed in a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment that she has been disappointed with the way the entertainment industry has depicted Asians.
“I could talk for days about the fact that the lack of representation in Hollywood or the incorrect representation of the Asian community in Hollywood goes hand in hand with these hate crimes, because America watches us as the punchlines, the stereotype, the supporting character that has maybe one line — we’ll be lucky if it’s in English,” the actress said.
Cola also attacked former President Donald Trump, and insisted that he is also to blame for Asians “being attacked on the street.” She takes issue with Trump saying COVID-19 hails from China.
“In the beginning of this pandemic, President Trump was definitely, very loosely calling COVID-19 — kung flu, China virus,” the actress said. “That absolutely was the reason why, you know, Asian people were being attacked on the street, and there were so many attacks.”
“I mean, over 3,000 attacks in the last year against the Asian community,” Cola claimed. “The Atlanta shooting was kind of like the last straw. That night of the Atlanta shooting, I remember calling my mom just in tears.”
The actress was referring to a fatal shooting spree at Atlanta-area massage parlors in March that left eight people dead, six of whom were Asian women.
“I was just devastated, because my mom also owns a small Asian business, you know? And she also is an immigrant. It could have been her,” the actress added. “A lot of Asian kids were thinking this, ‘It could’ve been my mom.'”
Cola is not the only member of the entertainment industry blaming Hollywood for contributing to what critics call a rise in anti-Asian sentiment in the United States.
In February, Asian-American writers in Hollywood blamed studios, and called for them to put and end to ethnic stereotyping in TV shows and movies.
In March, actress Kat Ahn said that nearly 15 years after playing an Asian character in an episode of the popular NBC sitcom The Office, she believes she was “just there to be the joke.”
Last month, comedian Samantha Bee accused Hollywood of perpetuating anti-Asian sentiments, saying the entertainment industry needs to take a “walk of shame” to atone for its sins.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler @alana, and on Instagram.
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