During the ‘Weekend Update’ segment, the first Chinese-American cast member on the series shares about a helpful mantra for himself which is a Mandarin cheer ‘Jiayou’ that roughly translates to ‘Fuel up.’
- Mar 29, 2021
AceShowbiz –
“Saturday Night Live” cast member Bowen Yang talked about something that really hit home in the new episode of the NBC comedy show. During the “Weekend Update” segment in the Saturday, March 27 episode, the first Chinese-American cast member on the series addressed anti-Asian hate crime that recently rises in the United States.
In the segment, Yang shared about a helpful mantra for himself which was a Mandarin cheer “Jiayou” that roughly translates to “Fuel up.” The comedian said, “I don’t know what’s helpful to say to everyone, but that’s what I say to myself. Fuel up. Do more. It’s the Year of the Metal Ox, which basically means a car. So everyone get in, buckle up, it’s no pee breaks. We ride at dawn, grandmas!”
The “Nora from Queens” actor referred to the 75-year-old Asian American woman named Xiao Zhen Xie. Earlier this month, Xie was punched by a white man in San Francisco, California, but then she used a wooden board to fight back. The suspect, Steve Jenkins, who attacked 83-year-old Ngoc Pham, was arrested at the scene.
The attack arrived just one day after Robert Aaron Long killed eight people at three Atlanta-area massage parlors. Of the victims, six were women of Asian descent.
Back to the show, Yang still attempted to bring laughter as he joked, “Six ways you can check in on your AAPI friends and tell them they’re so hot.”
“Weekend Update” host Colin Jost then asked Yang if those tips were going to help Asian Americans. To that, Yang responded, “Maybe. I don’t know, Colin… What can I say to help how insanely bad things are?” The 30-year-old went on to say, “If someone’s personality is ‘punch an Asian grandma,’ it’s not a dialogue. I have an Asian grandma, you want to punch her. There ain’t no common ground, mama.”
“Look, I’m just a comedian, I don’t have the answers. But I’m not just looking for them online, I’m looking around me,” he added. “The GoFundMe for Xiao Zhen Xie, the grandmother who fought back against her attacker, raised $900,000, which she immediately gave back to the community. That’s where we are as Asians. Come meet us there.”
Source: Television - aceshowbiz.com
