On December 5, 2006, Rosie O'Donnell, co-host and moderator of the ABC talk show, “The View,” tried to illustrate the international attention received by actor Danny DeVito's drunken appearance on a previous episode. To make her point, she gave her impression of how a Chinese newscaster would present the story. “It's news all over the world,” she said. “You can imagine in China it's like, ‘ching chong, ching chong, Danny DeVito, ching chong, ching chong…”

This offensive distortion of the Chinese language met with wide protests. Rene M. Astudillo, Executive Director of the Asian American Journalists Association, made an official statement regarding the issue, pointing out that such mockery is “insulting to the Chinese and Chinese Americans and gives the impression that they are a group that is substandard to English-speaking people.”

Rosie's official apology on December 14th was found by many to be unsatisfactory, even a backhanded jab at her critics. “I'm sorry for those people who felt hurt or were teased on the playground,” O’Donnell said, adding, “I'm also gonna give you a fair warning that there's a good chance I'll do something like that again, probably in the next week not on purpose. Only 'cause it's how my brain works.”

In retaliation, Asian American rapper Jin released the single, “You're Fired”. Rapped over Nas' song “Ether,” the song includes clips of Donald Trump's own off-color remarks on the comedian. Jin raps that her apology “was non-sincere” and attacks Rosie's comedic skills (“You. Are. Not. Funny.”), physical appearance (“You...shaped like a linebacker...”), and her audience for laughing with her (“Ya audience is obviously just as idiotic!”).

This is not the first time Jin has spoken out against racism. When the Hot 97 radio show “Miss Jones in the Morning” repeatedly aired a highly offensive song mocking victims of the 2005 tsunami disaster in Indonesia, Jin responded with his own song, which began, “Since when was hip-hop about being racist?”

Jin's new album, entitled ABC (American Born Chinese), will be released on February 20. According to his website at http://www.abcjin.com, Jin tries to balance his interest in his Chinese roots as well as in his now public persona as an Asian American: “Meaning he can tell you who the original nine members of the Wu Tang Clan are and in the same breath name a list of several Chinese pop icons just as easily.”