No, Chris Rock. We're still quite not over that crappy Asian joke you told at this year's Academy Awards. Fresh Off The Boat apparently isn't cool with it either. On Tuesday's season finale, the ABC comedy managed to throw a little bit of shade at the comedian's infamous awards show moment.
The episode's B-story revolves around Eddie's various attempts to watch Chris Rock's brand-new HBO standup comedy special Bring the Pain. (Remember: Fresh Off The Boat is set in the 1990s.) When the Huang brothers are finally able to sneak a late-night viewing, they find Rock's comedy funny and educational, with wide-eyed Evan remarking, "I'm just glad he doesn't do lame Asian jokes."
In about twenty years, Evan is going to be very disappointed.
The line is referring, of course, to that awkward-ass bit at the 88th Academy Awards in which Rock trotted out a trio of Asian children on to the stage to make a cheap joke about Asians being good at math.
The kids were supposed to be accountants. "They sent us their most dedicated, accurate and hard-working representatives," Rock said of the kids. "Please welcome Ming Zhu, Bao Ling and David Moskowitz."
It seems fitting that Fresh Off The Boat clapped back with their own trio of children -- fully-fleshed, three-dimensional characters who aren't the simply onscreen to be human props for a cheap, racist joke.
Yeah, like I said, we're still not quite over that.
