Language Tutor Company Sparks Outrage After Ad is Accused of Demeaning Asian Women
By Ryan General
February 24, 2020
An ad for a private tutor matching service has sparked accusations of racism for its alleged demeaning portrayal of an Asian woman.
Tutoroo, a French-owned startup that connects people with private language tutors, released an ad called “Getting the Phone Number of a Chinese Girl” on Facebook last year.
In the video, a British guy is shown asking the number of a Chinese woman who had trouble with her English pronunciation. Instead of saying the numbers “666-3629” correctly, she says: “Sex, sex, sex. Free sex. Tonight.”
The ad has since received over 2,000 reactions and hundreds of comments on Facebook.
When the startup re-uploaded the clip last month on Twitter, it gained more traction but also attracted commenters who found the use of the Chinese woman offensive.
In response to the criticism, a French entrepreneur and Tutoroo founder Nicolas Vanhove denied the video was racist, stating that he believes it is funny to make fun of any accent.
The startup’s Twitter account also berated its critics with insults and memes.
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