TV commentator blurts Chinese skiers 'all look the same'
The ears of Australian viewers of the Winter Olympics pricked up on Thursday night, when a commentator said Chinese athletes "all look the same."
The comment was made by former freestyle skier and five-time Olympian Jacqui Cooper, following a jump by Chinese aerial skier Yan Ting during a qualifying run.
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"Really nicely done, great control. Very Chinese. They all look the same. They’re very hard to tell who’s who," Cooper said.
What the actual fuck @7olympics pic.twitter.com/2dWnwAXik1
— Albert Santos, good username haver. (@albertinho) February 15, 2018
Of course, viewers picked up the comment, which went live to air.
The Australian commentator for the aerials just said all Chinese look the same. On national television. Fuck off.
— James Swinbanks (@j_swinbanks) February 15, 2018
Jacqui cooper, I love you. But saying that the Chinese aerial skiers "look the same" is kinda racist. @7Olympics isn't doing well at all. #7Olympics
— Len Webster (@lennwebster) February 15, 2018
Winter Olympics Channel 7 commentator:
"Very Chinese. They all look the same"
That can only end well.#PyeongChang2018 #Olympics— 🏆Dylan Leach 🐯 (@leachitup) February 15, 2018
Just managed to catch the @7olympics commentator in passing "(she's) very Chinese, they all look the same"
— 👴🏻Heresiarch😱☁️ (@PeteLawler) February 15, 2018
Look, we don't need to explain why these choice of words are really bad to use, especially to describe those of Asian ethnicity.
Cooper's employer, Channel Seven, explained in a tweet that "at no time was the commentary racist, intended to be racist of offensive," but rather inferred the Chinese are "trained in the same way."
Clarification pic.twitter.com/bbZvh7l69w
— 7Olympics (@7olympics) February 15, 2018
As did Cooper, who made it clear that she "was talking about the jump."
Just finished the Aerials, I’ve noticed a whole bunch of comments about my remarks re the Chinese. I need to make it clear I was talking about the jump. The Chinese are trained by one coach with one technique, their aim is all to jump the same.
Bring on the final tomorrow night.— Jacqui Cooper (@JacquiCooperSKI) February 15, 2018
Yeah, but please don't use those words, thanks.