Story highlights
Steve Harvey upsets some fans with Trump meeting, jokes about Asian men
He offers "my humblest apology for offending anyone"
Name something Steve Harvey has done recently that is upsetting fans?
Survey says … it’s more than one thing.
The normally beloved host has run afoul of a few with his recent actions.
Harvey tweeted an apology on Tuesday morning – his 60th birthday.
“I offer my humblest apology for offending anyone, particularly those in the Asian community, last week,” Harvey tweeted. “It was not my intention and the humor was not meant with any malice or disrespect whatsoever.”
The statement came as a result of Harvey taking heat for making jokes about Asian men on his daytime talk show.
During a recent segment on dating books, Harvey highlighted “How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men” and then joked that it could only be one page long.
“‘Excuse me, do you like Asian men?’ ” Harvey said, referencing what the book might say. “’No.’ ‘Thank you.’ “
“Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir” author Eddie Huang responded in an essay published in The New York Times.
“(Harvey) speaks openly about issues facing the black community, he is a man of God, and he has a huge platform to speak from,” Huang wrote. “Unfortunately, he’s also the type of guy who orders Krug champagne for himself and Cook’s for every one else. For his own personal profit, he’s willing to perpetuate the emasculation of Asian men regardless of how hypocritical it is.”
But he’s not the only one Harvey has angered in the last few days.
On Monday “The Daily Show” joined “Saturday Night Live” in mocking Harvey’s meeting last week with President-elect Donald Trump.
Harvey explained in an earlier tweet why he went to Trump Tower in New York.
He said both President Barack Obama’s and Trump’s teams requested he take the meeting and that he was placed in contact with Department of Housing and Urban Development nominee Ben Carson to discuss helping inner cities.
“And you thought Donald Trump wasn’t going to do anything for black people,” “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah joked Monday night.
Rapper T.I. posted a series of videos on Instagram on Monday calling out Harvey as well as fellow rapper Kanye West, actor-former football star Jim Brown and Martin Luther King III for meeting with Trump.
“Given what’s goin on between him & Congressman Lewis…. All y’all looking CRAZY right now,” T.I. wrote in the caption, referring to Trump’s criticism of US Rep. John Lewis of Georgia on Twitter. “Be Aware, Be Alert, Or Be Bamboozled.”
Harvey has also been roasted on Twitter for meeting with Trump.
On his radio show Monday, Harvey said he was hurt by all the criticism.
“I didn’t expect the backlash to be so fierce,” he said. “I also understand if I’m going to keep getting stabbed at, at least while you’re stabbing me, you should understand my intent.”