Celebrity chef, author and executive producer Eddie Huang says he didn’t think twice about his new show’s name, Fresh Off the Boat, or using racial slurs in the program, reports Time.
Some have criticized Huang for using a derogatory term that describes newly arrived immigrants in the show’s title. Some of those people may also be shocked to hear the word “chink” in the show’s pilot.
“I never, never once thought about not using the word, because that was the word that was said to me,” Huang says. “And there’s no other word that will get the reaction that that word got out of me.”
Despite the criticism Margaret Cho to this day still hears about her comedy 20 years ago, All American Girl, Huang says he’s honored to be compared to Cho.
“I never, never once thought about not using the word, because that was the word that was said to me,” Huang says. “And there’s no other word that will get the reaction that that word got out of me.”
Fresh Off the Boat has been scheduled to be a mid-season replacement by ABC.
You can hear more of Eddie’s thoughts on his upcoming show in an interview with Time below.