so you think you can be asian?

Been getting loads of email from So You Think You Can Dance? fans... not about our man Hok, but about one of the other contestants, Lauren Gottleib, who says she has an alter ego, "Misha Chan." She apparently think she "looks" Asian enough, so sometimes she goes on auditions as Ms. Chan and pretends to be Asian. What kind of crazy talk is this? Television Without Pity puts it nicely:

The final couple is Lauren and Neil. Lauren's secret is that she has an alter ego. When she cut her hair into choppy layers people thought she was Asian. Hang on, what the...? She decided to call herself Misha Chan sometimes and occasionally will go by that in auditions. I don't even want to think about what it says that someone can be mistaken for Asian because they have dark hair cut in choppy layers. I just want to know what she says when she encounters actual Asians at auditions who wonder how this crazy white girl ended up with the last name "Chan." I guess since I've got thick brown hair, my alter ego could be Hispanic. Oh wait, except that would be ridiculous and seem vaguely offensive.

Giggle giggle. Because that's so fun and cool, and being Asian is so exotic and unique. Like some kind of freaky costume you can pull on and off. Just cut your dark hair in choppy layers, and voila! that apparently makes you an instant Asian. Add chopsticks in hair for full Oriental flavor. Here's video of her latest appearance on the show. At least Hok is still in the competition.