Velazquez Slams Racist FOX News Segment

Washington, DC –Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) today wrote to the leadership of FOX News Channel decrying a recent segment that demeaned Asian Americans. Velázquez’s district includes Chinatown, where the piece was filmed. The text of the letter is below.

October 6, 2016

Mr. Jack Abernethy and Mr. Bill Shine
Co-Presidents
FOX News Channel
1211 Avenue of the Americas
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10036

Dear Mr. Abernethy and Mr. Shine:

I was disgusted, saddened and appalled by the October 3rd “Watters World” segment of the O’Reilly Factor, which demeaned and lampooned Asian Americans. As you know, New York’s Chinatown is an important part of our City’s vibrant cultural tapestry and this segment was deeply offensive to our community. It should be condemned without hesitation or qualification.

Any objective observer would agree that Mr. Watters’ piece blatantly played on racial stereotypes to malign members of our community based solely on their ethnic background.

As a progressive Democrat, I recognize that FOX News is often viewed as a network with conservative proclivities. However, despite any ideological differences I may have with your editorial content, I hope you agree that hate speech has no place on any news channel -- and certainly not on a platform like FOX’s, which reaches 1.9 million households daily.

Accordingly, I would ask you to answer the following questions:

1. Does FOX News have a policy regarding the broadcast of racist editorial content? How is that policy communicated to employees, producers and on-air talent?

2. Do you believe Monday’s segment reflects the values of FOX News and, more broadly, 21st Century Fox?

3. Will Mr. Watters and Mr. O’Reilly face any consequences as a result of the racist content aired? Will you consider terminating or suspending them without pay?
Like all progressive Democrats, I believe strongly in a free and independent media and cherish the First Amendment. However, that does not abdicate private news channels from their responsibility to ensure they are not disseminating hate speech. I would ask you to reflect deeply on whether the segment aired truly represents your institution’s corporate values and take swift action to communicate how inappropriate and offensive this piece was.

I look forward to your timely response.

Sincerely,

Nydia M. Velázquez

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