Comedian Samantha Bee blasted Fox News for its coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
The TBS host had a sympathetic message for the Chinese government in her Wednesday episode of Full Frontal. Bee played clips featuring Fox News personalities Tucker Carlson and Brian Kilmeade, both of whom acknowledged that the virus is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, a commercial city approximately 500 miles west of Shanghai. She then said their identification of the virus’s place of origin was “racist.”
“China, we know it’s not your bad, but could you please send Brian Kilmeade an Edible Arrangement so he’ll shut the f— up?” Bee said. “Tying coronavirus to China and Chinese people isn’t just a racist dog whistle, it’s a whole racist orchestra.”
“It’s a mighty, mighty racist boss tone,” Bee insisted, displaying a picture of the regular hosts of Fox News’s The Five that included liberal commentator Juan Williams.
“Which brings me to this important point: The coronavirus is not an excuse to be racist! Look, I know, I know racism is like America’s weighted blanket. When everything is stressful, nothing makes us feel more secure than treating other people like trash.”
Bee is not the only public figure who has addressed concerns about using phrases such as “Wuhan virus” or “Chinese coronavirus.” After President Trump announced a series of initiatives to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, CNN White House correspondent Jim Acosta claimed Trump’s address to the nation “smacked of xenophobia” because he used the phrase “foreign virus.”
However, while reporting on the growing pandemic, Acosta himself used the phrase “Wuhan Coronavirus” to describe the COVID-19 infection rate.
“CNN International: Authorities in Beijing have cancelled all large-scale Chinese New Year celebrations in an effort to contain the growing spread of Wuhan Coronavirus,” Acosta tweeted in January.
CNN International: Authorities in Beijing have cancelled all large-scale Chinese New Year celebrations in an effort to contain the growing spread of Wuhan Coronavirus.
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) January 23, 2020
