BD Wong expresses regret for racist joke: 'Taking full responsibility'

The star of Law & Order: SVU and Mulan recently posted a two-part apology after facing backlash for making a racist joke on Instagram. The incident began when Wong replied to a post by content creator Mike Holston, who is Black, asking his 16 million followers to "name this animal... wrong answers only." In a comment on a video showing Holston interacting with a binturong, which has since been deleted, Wong wrote, "It appears to be a Black man."

On the same day Holston shared the post, Wong took to the text-based platform Threads to express remorse. He wrote, "Y'all I made a very bad joke. As most people in hot water do, I deleted it for damage control but it's out there & continues to hurt & disappoint & I'm really sorry about the hurt part." Wong explained further, "Super dumb, but I tried to follow the 'Wrong Answers Only' prompt with the wrongest answer. This succeeded only in that it was super wrong. I know nobody gets a free pass. I'm sorry if this moment tarnished any respect you may've had for me. & thanks if you advocate for an internet that's safe for everybody."

In a follow-up post, Wong expanded on the incident, acknowledging the severity of the comment. He stated, "I want to elaborate re a racist comment I posted, to clarify that I recognize & accept the responsibility for how terrible it is. It's also wrong to try to 'explain' anything, & I think that causes a further breaking down in folks' trust. Let me please spend the energy on how wrong I know it is to exploit a despicable, racist trope in the supposed spirit of humor; I do know better, but again no excuses. Very sorry for the hurt I've caused & for taking lightly something so deeply injurious."

Entertainment Weekly has reached out to Wong's representatives for comment. Wong has not previously faced public accusations of racism but has been vocal about confronting racism in other situations. In August, Wong, who is of Chinese descent, wrote an open letter criticizing the casting of white actor Andrew Barth Feldman in the Broadway musical Maybe Happy Ending, which had originally been performed in Korea and featured an Asian lead played by Darren Criss, of Filipino descent. Wong wrote, "Asian actors and the Asian theatergoing community are fiercely wrestling over a non-Asian actor replacing the Asian male lead in the Broadway musical Maybe Happy Ending. Please google this responsibly. It's a real, eternal outcry about race and representation, not an irrational rant about robots."

Wong first gained recognition for his role in the 1988 Broadway production of M. Butterfly opposite John Lithgow. Since then, he has appeared in series such as Oz, several Jurassic Park films, and notably spent 16 seasons on SVU as Special Agent George Huang, a role he recently reprised after nearly a decade away.

Author: Sophia Brooks