Law & Order: SVU star BD Wong apologizes for racist joke: ‘I do know better’

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Wong had made a racist joke in the comments of a Black influencer’s post

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B.D. Wong, the actor best known for playing Dr. George Huang on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, has issued a lengthy apology after making a racist comment on social media.

Wong, 65, had responded to a post by influencer Mike Holston, known online as “The Real Tarzan,” in which he held a large animal on his shoulders. “Name this animal… wrong answers only,” Holston, who is Black, captioned the December 1 post.

In a since-deleted comment, Wong reportedly replied: “It appears to be a Black man.”

Wong later addressed the comment on Threads, writing: “Y’all I made a very bad joke.

“As most people in hot water do, I deleted it for Damage Control but it’s out there & continues to hurt & disappoint & I’m really sorry about the hurt part. Super dumb, but I tried to follow the ‘Wrong Answers Only’ prompt with the wrongest answer. This succeeded only in that it was Super Wrong. I know nobody gets a free pass. I’m sorry if this #wtfbd moment tarnished any respect you may’ve had for me. & thanks if you advocate for an internet that’s safe for everybody.”

Several hours later, Wong added in another post: “I want to elaborate on a racist comment I posted, to clarify that I recognize & accept the responsibility for how terrible it is. It’s also wrong to try to ‘explain’ anything, & I think that causes a further breaking down in folks’ trust.”

“Let me please spend the energy on how wrong I know it is to exploit a despicable, racist trope in the supposed spirit of humor; I do know better, but again no excuses. Very sorry for the hurt I’ve caused & for taking lightly something so deeply injurious,” the actor concluded.

Wong, who joined SVU in season two before leaving in season 17, recently reprised his role as Huang after nearly 10 years in the season 27 season premiere that aired in September. He also played Dr. Henry Wu in the Jurassic Park franchise and appeared in films like Father of the Bride and Mulan as well as shows like Mr. Robot and Gotham.

Wong is one of Hollywood’s few openly gay Asian actors and became the first Asian actor to win a Tony in 1988 for M. Butterfly. In August, he wrote an open letter decrying the casting of Andrew Barth Feldman in Maybe Happy Ending after the production traveled from South Korea to Broadway. The role was initially played by Glee actor Darren Criss, who is of Filipino descent.

“To put it simply: Asian Actors and the Asian Theatergoing Community are fiercely wrestling over a non-Asian actor replacing the Asian male lead in the Broadway musical Maybe Happy Ending. Please Google this responsibly. It’s a real, eternal outcry about race and representation, not an irrational rant about robots,” he wrote.

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