NextSharkNextShark.com

Ohio ‘Asian Festival’ Apparently Couldn’t Find Any Real Asians to Promote It

Ohio ‘Asian Festival’ Apparently Couldn’t Find Any Real Asians to Promote It

March 19, 2018
SHARE
An “Asian Festival” in Columbus, Ohio, hoping to “promote the importance of cultural diversity” has triggered angry reactions among social media users for the lack of actual Asians and Asian Americans on some of its promotional ads.
One poster shows two blue-eyed dolls in traditional Asian attire. Another image, which has since been taken down, depicts a little White girl wearing a cheongsam dress.
View post on Twitter
Subscribe to
NextShark's Newsletter

A daily dose of Asian America's essential stories, in under 5 minutes.

Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories to your inbox daily for free.

Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive.

Social media users erupted in anger across Twitter and Facebook, with many commenting on the festival organizers’ insensitivity.
“WTF. Pics of DOLLS, because you can’t find actual Asian humans??” one user wrote.
“You caught the hands of the Internet with your tone deaf poster,” a review on the festival’s Facebook page reads. “I’m not even mad at y’all anymore. At this point, this is just stupid columbusing nonsense LOL. The fact that no one in PR looked at the poster and thought ‘are you sure you want to post up only a white girl for an Asian festival?’ Is just laughable.”
“Ok… one more comment, well, really a question. I want to know if Matt Damon or Tilda Swinton will be at the festival!!!!!” another user commented.
View post on Twitter
“Growing up in Columbus this image is also controversial to the local Asian American leaders,” Twitter user George Yui wrote. “Its unfortunate because this festival brings the community together and has been around for decades.”
Asian Festival, which is set to run from May 26-27, has yet to speak on the controversial images, but posted a cryptic comment on its own Facebook page, saying, “Guess whose work it is”.
MOST READ
    HAPPENING NOW
      Khier Casino

      Khier Casino is a contributor at NextShark

      SHARE THIS ARTICLE:

      RELATED STORIES FROM NEXTSHARK

      Support
      NextShark's
      Journalism

      Many people might not know this, but NextShark is a small media startup that runs on no outside funding or loans, and with no paywalls or subscription fees, we rely on help from our community and readers like you.

      Everything you see today is built by Asians, for Asians to help amplify our voices globally and support each other. However, we still face many difficulties in our industry because of our commitment to accessible and informational Asian news coverage.

      We hope you consider making a contribution to NextShark so we can continue to provide you quality journalism that informs, educates, and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way. Thank you for supporting NextShark and our community.

      © 2023 NextShark, Inc. All rights reserved.