Matt Schlapp, the president of the Conservative Political Action Conference, has called for Sesame Street producer PBS to be defunded over the introduction of an Asian-American character to the kids' show.
It was announced this week that the popular kids TV show will have its first Asian-American muppet join its cast in the show's latest strive for inclusion.
Per New York Times, a seven-year-old Korean-American girl named Ji-Young is set to debut Thanksgiving Day as part of a special titled 'See Us Coming Together'.
And while the inclusive move has been celebrated worldwide, it seems as though Schlapp has other thoughts.
Taking to Twitter, Schlapp linked to an Associated Press report, where producers said that they hoped the new character would help to stem rising anti-Asian-American prejudice in the US.
"What race is Ernie is Bert? You are insane PBS and we should stop funding you," he wrote.
In the special - that centers around a Neighbor Day celebration and features celebrities ranging from Marvel's Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings star Simu Liu to Japanese tennis pro Naomi Osaka - another child tells Ji-Young to "go home" in an offscreen incident.
She subsequently seeks out friends and adults who, together, help her understand she's "exactly where she belongs," according to a press release on the episode.
The moment serves as an entryway into discussions around anti-Asian racism, as the show provides a viewing guide and resources to conduct those conversations, the release said.
Alan Muraoka, who plays the owner of Hooper's Store on the show and is also Asian American, explained that the nationwide racial reckoning, spurred by events like the killing of eight people in Atlanta-area spas, most of them Asian women, and the heightened anti-Asian bias and attacks due to racist Covid-related stereotypes, pushed the show to further address racism and discrimination.
"People are seeing the need for it now, especially with the rise in American violence," Muraoka said. "I think it's absolutely because the nation as a whole woke up."
In a statement to the New York Post, Kay Wilson Stallings, the executive vice president of creative and production for the Sesame Workshop’s Coming Together initiative, said:
"Today, we uphold [Sesame Workshop’s] mission by empowering children and families of all races, ethnicities and cultures to value their unique identities."
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