<i>Master of None’</i>s Alan Yang Makes Appeal for More Asian Americans on TV at Emmys
Master of None’s Alan Yang Makes Appeal for More Asian Americans on TV at Emmys
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Alan Yang, left, and Aziz Ansari accept Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the Master of None episode "Parents" during the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 18, 2016, in Los AngelesKevin Winter—Getty Images
During his acceptance speech for best writing in a comedy series for Master of None, Alan Yang (who co-wrote the episode with Aziz Ansari) petitioned for greater representation of Asian-American actors on television.
“There’s 17 million Asian-Americans in this country, and there’s 17 million Italian Americans. They have The Godfather, Goodfellas, Rocky, The Sopranos. We got Long Duk Dong, so we’ve got a long way to go,” he said, referencing the notorious character from Sixteen Candles.
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Priyanka Chopra arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.Steve Granitz—Getty ImagesSofia Vergara arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.Jeff Kravitz—Getty ImagesEmily Ratajkowski arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.Frazer Harrison—Getty ImagesKristen Bell arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.Todd Williamson—Getty ImagesTaraji P. 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“But I know we can get there. I believe in us. It’s just going to take a lot of hard work. Asian parents out there, if you could just do me a favor, just a couple of you get your kids cameras instead of violins, we’ll be all good,” Yang said.
Yang and Ansari have been outspoken about the lack of diversity among actors and characters on television before and episodes of Master of None addressed the issue outright.
