Who the hell thought this was a good idea? On Thursday, the official Twitter account for the new ABC sitcom Fresh Off The Boat posted a crappy promotional image depicting various people of the world... and their hats. It immediately drew the ire of the internet -- including angry words from Eddie Huang, whose memoir is the inspiration for the comedy, and Jeff Yang, whose son Hudson plays Eddie on the show.
Ummm not sure what to make of this terribly reductive ad for #FreshOffTheBoat https://t.co/ZC6a9wEJ8z @MrEddieHuang @originalspin
— Mimi Wong (@whoismims) January 29, 2015.@originalspin @whoismims someone please reverse this @FreshOffABC at least they didn't do the native american with chicken pox blankie lol
— RICH HOMIE HUANG (@MrEddieHuang) January 29, 2015@lxnro1988 @whoismims @originalspin maybe people are just fucking morons. you have to be a mouth breathing psycho to make that graphic
— RICH HOMIE HUANG (@MrEddieHuang) January 29, 2015@originalspin @whoismims @FreshOffABC no dude. what are you talking about? how is this "well meaning"? this is flat out TERRIBLE
— RICH HOMIE HUANG (@MrEddieHuang) January 29, 2015@originalspin @whoismims @FreshOffABC don't excuse them. we can't straddle a fence forever. this is plain offensive and ridiculous
— RICH HOMIE HUANG (@MrEddieHuang) January 29, 2015.@originalspin @whoismims @FreshOffABC the root cause is hiring people who have NEVER LIVED THESE LIVES and paying them to represent us
— RICH HOMIE HUANG (@MrEddieHuang) January 29, 2015Eddie even pulled in Melvin Mar, one of the producers of Fresh Off The Boat:
.@chineseguy88 people at studio actually listen to you cause you're a "good chinaman" lol could u please have them take the turban ad down?
— RICH HOMIE HUANG (@MrEddieHuang) January 29, 2015The tweet was eventually removed from the show's Twitter account.
@whoismims @MrEddieHuang @FreshOffABC I bet it's an agency. This is classic "well meaning but WTF" marketing, which I'm sadly immersed in.
— Jeff Yang (@originalspin) January 29, 2015I'm guessing somebody got yelled at.
If you've been following recent press around Fresh Off The Boat, you know about the now-infamous, much-publicized incident where some bonehead journalist raised an idiotic question about "Asian culture" to kick off the show's panel at the recent Television Critics Association's Winter Press Tour.
"I love the Asian culture. And I was just talking about the chopsticks. And I just love all that. Will I get to see that? Or will it be more Americanized?" (PROTIP: One should never start any statement with "I love the Asian culture.")
That was one clueless journalist. It was a telling moment that illustrated a lot of the hurdles this show is dealing with. But dude. This tweet? That comes from a marketing department. Somebody is getting paid to promote the show, yet has no idea what this show is really about.
Fresh Off The Boat is coming, America. Ready or not.
