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.
Emmys 2016: See Celebrities on the Red Carpet
Priyanka Chopra arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Sofia Vergara arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Emily Ratajkowski arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Kristen Bell arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Taraji P. Henson arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Laverne Cox arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Jerry Seinfeld and Jessica Seinfeld arrive at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Viola Davis arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin and Millie Bobby Brown arrive at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Sophie Turner arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Kit Harrington arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Heidi Klum arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Angela Bassett arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Michelle Dockery arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Robin Dearden and Bryan Cranston arrive at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Emilia Clarke arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Constance Zimmer arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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David Schwimmer and Zoe Buckman arrive at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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John Travolta and Kelly Preston arrive at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Kerry Washington arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Amy Poehler arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Tina Fey arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Cuba Gooding, Jr. arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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James Corden and Julia Carey arrive at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Sarah Paulson arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Rami Malek arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Kate McKinnon arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Ryan Michelle Bathe and Sterling K. Brown arrive at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Mandy Moore arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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America Ferrara arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Jane Krakowski arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Tom Hiddleson arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Emmy Rossum arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Reggie Watts arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Kerri Russell arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Kirsten Dunst arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Alia Shawkat arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Hank Azaria arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Amanda Peet arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy arrive at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Portia Doubleday arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Neve Campbell arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Damon Wayons arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Jamie Brewer arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Jay Duplass arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Jill Soloway arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Andy Samberg arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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William H. Macy arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Louie Anderson arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Ellie Kemper arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Tracee Ellis Ross arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Randall Park arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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Carol Kane arrives at the 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 18, 2016 in Los Angeles.
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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.
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