Shoes Off Inside with MKT

Three trailblazing Asian American women in TV journalism and Hollywood join forces to rattle some cages and dismantle tired old stereotypes about race, age, sex and culture. Award-winning journalist May Lee and actresses Kelly Hu and Tamlyn Tomita (a.k.a. MKT) take on topics that aren't often discussed in the most open, authentic and, sometimes, hilarious way because they are unafraid to be fully themselves. They're all 50+ and fabulous so they got nothing to hide and they are beyond the point of caring about what other people think! So take your Shoes Off Inside and join MKT to engage, contribute, challenge and, most importantly, have fun! Lots and lots of FUN!

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Shoes Off Inside with MKT

#75 - Women Behind #VeryAsian

January 13, 2022 • The May Lee Show

On New Year's Day 2022, local news anchor Michelle Li received a racist voicemail from a viewer who had an issue with her story on foods that people eat for New Year's. In the short 20 second story, Michelle mentioned in passing that she had traditional Korean dumplings to celebrate the holiday. The viewer accused her of being "Very Asian" and that she should "keep her Korean to herself". Michelle posted a video herself silently listening to the voicemail on Twitter and it immediately went viral. The uproar was explosive, especially since the AAPI community has been and is STILL dealing with anti-Asian hate for the past two years. Michelle and fellow broadcast journalist Gia Vang decided to turn the hate into something powerfully positive by taking what the viewer meant to be derogatory, "Very Asian", and turn it into something that represents Asian pride...#VeryAsian. That hashtag has, of course, gone viral. Michelle and Gia have a very honest, genuine and, at times, raw conversation with May about the call, the unexpected reaction and why #VeryAsian is so significant to so many.

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