David Cross Accused of Racist Behavior by Charlyne Yi
Led by the Harvey Weinstein ordeal, Hollywood has been flooded in accusations of powerful men acting inappropriately towards powerless women.
The latest woman to speak out, actress Charlyne Yi, alleges on Twitter that David Cross made racist comments toward her over a decade ago.
According to Yi, the “Arrested Development” actor made fun of Yi’s ripped pants when they first met before mocking her Asian heritage. Yi, who has appeared in films like “Knocked Up” and “Lego Ninjago,” claims “he said to me ‘what’s a matter? You don’t speak English?? Ching-chong-ching-chong.'” Despite recognizing her discomfort, Cross kept going and asked Yi if she was going to use karate against him.
Then after he saw I was offended he asked me if I was going to fight with him karate in a southern accent. Then a few years later he was re-introduced to me after my comedy show with his girlfriend at the time & he said "Hi nice to meet you".
— Charlyne Yi (@charlyne_yi) October 16, 2017
I will say this:
-I can tell the difference between this man making a joke vs condescending me.
-This happened 10 years ago and I sure as hell hope he's changed (or at the very least, he's scared enough to not be his racist self).— Charlyne Yi (@charlyne_yi) October 16, 2017
On Tuesday, Cross released his own statement about the events via twitter, expressing his surprise at the accusations and claiming that he does not remember making those statements.
“I am NOT accusing Charlene [sic] of lying, and I’m truly sorry if I hurt her, it was never my intention to do that,” Cross wrote. “I do not remember it like she remembers (and clearly we’re quite a bit far apart on this) but I reached out to her privately and expressed that and more, including the possibility that perhaps we are both misremembering *exactly* what happened that night.”
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