Comedian filmed spewing anti-Asian racism uses AAPI Heritage Month to promote tour
By Bryan Ke
May 30, 2023
A comedian who was filmed spewing anti-Asian racism on stage recently greeted his social media followers with “Happy Asian Heritage month” while promoting his upcoming comedy tour.
Tony Hinchcliffe made his greetings in two separate social media posts on May 18 and May 24 to promote his “The Fully Groan Tour.” The latter post incorporated what appears to be a Chinese arch and a rising sun.
“Happy Asian Heritage month! So pumped to show America/Canada what I’ve been working on down here in Texas,” Hinchcliffe wrote in his May 18 Instagram post’s description.
The recent greetings and promotional move were considered eyebrow-raising by several netizens, given that the comedian made headlines in May 2021 for using racial slurs to mock fellow comedian Peng Dang.
Dang, a Dallas-based stand-up comedian, opened for Hinchcliffe and introduced him to the stage during a Big Laugh Comedy event at Vulcan Gas Company in Austin, Texas, in early May 2021.
After taking the mic, Hinchcliffe unleashed a barrage of racist remarks toward Dang, calling him a “filthy little f*cking ch*nk” and putting on a fake Asian accent while saying, “Oh, we make gunpowder, oh, you want extra soy sauce,” and “Oh, you borrow money from us.”
Speaking to NextShark at the time, Dang said he was shocked and upset about Hinchcliffe’s words, especially when it came right after his opening act, which also included a segment on the #StopAsianHate movement.
Hinchcliffe’s talent agent at William Morris Endeavor reportedly dropped the comedian following the incident, which also occurred during AAPI Heritage Month that year, according to TMZ.
Dang appeared on the “Lucky Boys Podcast” months after the incident — which he has said Hinchcliffe never apologized for — to discuss what happened.
He revealed that the night before the incident, Hinchcliffe had his bodyguard kick an upset Asian audience member out of the bar they were in after he confronted the comedian for a joke he made about Asians.
According to Dang, Hinchcliffe called the Asian audience member “Chinese takeout” and “was bragging about it on stage, like as part of his joke.”
“So I already knew confronting him is not going to change anything,” Dang said. “He’s going to call you a f*cking p*ssy and he’s going to [say], ‘Oh, why are you so sensitive.’ It’s not going to change anything.”
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