The revelation comes in the aftermath of a tragic Atlanta shooting that left eight women dead, six of them Asian.
What We Know:
- SuChin Pak formerly worked as a news correspondent for MTV. In an Instagram post last week, Pak disclosed that she overheard a colleague make disparaging comments about her to others in the room during an evening broadcast several years ago. The man referred to Pak as a “sucky sucky love you long time” whore, a reference to the 1987 Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket.
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- She identified the man making the remarks only as a “white male executive.” Pak chose not to speak out in fear of being seen as “difficult.” She later attempted to have MTV executives remove the man, but instead, the network opted to work with her through a mediation process.
“I did not do this because I had an agenda or even courage, I just had this sinking feeling in my gut. . . .the kind of sinking feeling though that doesn’t give you strength, or bravery, it was the kind that kept me in bed for a month, crying, scared,” said Pak.
- The incident has stayed with Pak throughout her life. At the time, she feared that because of her decision not to speak out, it would signal to other women that sort of behavior should be tolerated, or worse “that someone like me would just swallow it and shrink into the small space that I was allowed to occupy,” Pak continued.
- There has been a noticeable increase in violence against Asian-Americans since the beginning of the pandemic. Cities across the country have created task forces in response, such as in New York and the Bay Area. Former NBA star Jeremy Lin recently revealed his own experiences with racism, calling for unity and understanding other marginalized groups from the public.
SuChin Pak was born in South Korea and came to the U.S. as a child. She began working as a news correspondent with MTV in 2001, leaving the network in 2008.
