2 Broke Girls: 'so racist it's baffling'

While the debate about the all-white casting on HBO's Girls has been garnering attention on the blogosphere, it's surprising there hasn't been a similar dialogue concerning the portrayal of Asian-Americans in US sitcoms. E4's latest aquisition, 2 Broke Girls , is the most problematic. Created by Sex and the City 's Michael Patrick King , it's the story of two white waitresses (Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs) who work in a Brooklyn restaurant whose boss is Asian-American Han Lee ( Matthew Moy ). Short, asexual and work-obsessed, Lee is ridiculed for his broken English and failing to "get" US culture. In one episode Dennings' character says, after a run-in with Lee: "You can't tell an Asian he made a mistake. He'll go in back and throw himself on a sword." In response to criticism (the New Yorker called it "so racist it is less offensive than baffling" ), King argued that his minority status allowed him free rein: "I'm gay. I put in gay stereotypes every week! I don't find it offensive … I find it comic to take everybody down, which is what we are doing." Other US shows such as Don't Trust The B**** In Apartment 23 and Are You There Chelsea? contain racist quips and/or stereotypical Asian Americans. Kane Carpenter, the editor of the Chinese American newspaper Sampan, thinks the lack of outrage is because "the term "Asian American" refers to such a diverse group of people of different ethnic backgrounds. There is less of a response from our community when racism is directed towards us."