Olivia Munn says that Asian Americans are being targeted, responding to the Atlanta shooting on Tuesday where a white gunman killed eight people, six of whom were Asian American. The Love Wedding Repeat and The Newsroom actress spoke with MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on Wednesday about the rise in anti-Asian violence amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“We are living in a country that is attacking us simply for being us. And we really don’t know what we have to do to get help,” Munn told Wallace on Deadline: White House. “We need more people to care about us.”
Munn, who has been outspoken about Asian discrimination and racism, first spoke out about the Tuesday evening murders on social media. She tweeted that Asian Americans “need help to be safe in our country.” She told Wallace that because of underreporting and a language barrier, the attacks against the Asian American community are not getting enough attention.
She mentioned that the attacks, which were initially targeting elders in the Asian community, have developed into acts of violence specifically against Asian women. While the coronavirus pandemic continues to devastate families across America, Munn said “this other pandemic” of racially charged violence adds to “the heartbreaking” situation. She brought up racially-charged names for the coronavirus, such as “Kung flu” or “China virus” – both terms former President Donald Trump used to name Covid-19.
“They put a target on our back and it just can’t be open season for Asians right now,” she said.
She used her time on the MSNBC segment to demand elected officials use their platforms to amplify the concerns of the Asian community.
Munn one of the many prominent Asian American figures expressing their dismay and heartbreak with Tuesday’s murders. The Farewell director Lulu Wang, Simu Liu and Daniel Dae Kim also shared their thoughts on social media.
See the the Munn’s MSNBC appearance and the social media posts below:
“Right now there is a mental health crisis with Asian Americans. We are being targeted, we are living in a country that is attacking us simply just for being us.”@Oliviamunn speaks with @NicolleDWallace on @MSNBC about the rise in Asian-American hate crimes across the U.S. pic.twitter.com/dVJm1xOUgL
— MSNBC Public Relations (@MSNBCPR) March 17, 2021
The violent attacks and murders against Asians are still happening.
Please help us.
We need help to be safe in our country.#StopAsianHate. Please. pic.twitter.com/NJ3knm1hlo— o l i v i a (@oliviamunn) March 17, 2021
Would killing 8 people while specifically targeting Asian women at 3 different locations be just something he did “at the end of a bad day” if his skin was a different color and his eyes were a different shape? 🤬🤬🤬 #StopAsianHate https://t.co/nhS3e2Lmi6
— o l i v i a (@oliviamunn) March 17, 2021
I know these women. The ones working themselves to the bone to send their kids to school, to send money back home. In too much pain to know what else to say so I’ll just leave this here. https://t.co/Dz7wKkbADy
— Lulu Wang (@thumbelulu) March 17, 2021
The race of the person committing the crime matters less than the simple fact that if you act with hate in your heart, you are part of the problem. And to those with the power to help and yet sit idly by, your silence is complicity. #StopAsianHate https://t.co/0QaLoXhtP0
— Daniel Dae Kim (@danieldaekim) March 17, 2021
The hashtag #StopAsianHate is rightly trending. How do we do that beyond just tweeting? Some ideas. Examine stereotypes you hold about Asian people. Work to dismantle that within yourself. Raise your voice anywhere that anti-Asian sentiment is present. Normalize calling it out. https://t.co/KENMNCsEvy
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) March 17, 2021
Feeling overwhelming grief at the senseless murder of 8 people in Atlanta. Still much we don't know, but it's clear to me that the shooter specifically targeted Asian women.
Praying for the victims' families, and for my Asian sisters. Action to follow.https://t.co/DjMcG0sBbv
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) March 17, 2021
FUCK ANTI- YELLOW MISOGYNY
I'm no scholar, but I am an Asian woman who knows what it's like to be reduced, denigrated and how unsafe the objectification makes me feel.
Thanks @nancywyuen who helped me shape my thoughts.#FuckYourModelMinority#StopAAPIHate pic.twitter.com/YvcmtTK5Zr— Sophia Chang (@sophchang) March 17, 2021
This is where “kung flu” leads. You think it’s a joke and that we shouldn’t be so serious about it. But then there are those who latch onto it with hatred and xenophobia and use it to fuel their fear and contempt until it explodes into heinous acts. This is what happens when 1/ pic.twitter.com/ZqLxH4tNI0
— Bruce Lee (@brucelee) March 17, 2021
Call a hate crime what it is.
And GOP leaders, stop fanning violence with anti-Asian rhetoric.
You should be ashamed at what you have unleashed.
— George Takei (@GeorgeTakei) March 17, 2021
Must Read Stories
Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy.