Lucy Liu looked uncomfortable when Craig Ferguson made a weird Chinatown joke in tense interview
Television host Craig Ferguson has a subtle way of dissing his guests by mocking their origins. However, in a 2010 interview on 'The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson' with 'Charlie's Angels' star Lucy Liu, the Scottish-American comedian landed in a foot-in-mouth situation while referring to the globally dominant Chinese population. Ferguson was surprised to note that Liu was a thoroughbred New Yorker. He then quizzed her about her mother tongue and inquired if she was well-traveled, during the discussion the seasoned host happened to mention that there was a Chinatown in Glasglow.
"A couple of friends of mine who are there told me there are not many Chinese people there," the 'Shazam' actress countered the seasoned host. "Oh on the contrary there's a Chinatown in Glasgow," Ferguson cut in. "But it's like two people. Chinese people are not like rabbits you know!" Liu shut him up. "I didn't say they are," he replied with a defeated look. "But it's like two people," Liu repeated visibly irked.
Ferguson subtly implied that by creating a Chinatown, the Chinese immigrants occupy any town or nation. Liu got the cue and called out his hypocrisy instantly. But the comedian did not back down and continued to explain by bringing in history, "No, no there is a genuine Chinatown in Glasgow I swear. Glasgow used to be a huge port city and so anywhere there's big port cities you usually get a Chinatown. San Francisco has a big Chinatown because it's also a port city. But no Chinatown in Kansas you know why? No ships!" he said trying to refer to the olden days when the Chinese merchants traveled to port cities for trade. He continued to debate his opinions, but Liu consistently cut him off.
Ferguson then moved on to her accent while also discussing China-Taiwan politics, and then he went on to compare Chinese and Mandarin languages. He insisted that Mandarin was a difficult language to learn. "Do you speak Mandarin or Cantonese?" he quizzed. "I speak Mandarin," the 'Red One' actress replied. Mandarin is a very difficult language did you grow up speaking that?" "I yes. Oh, it's not that difficult you know. I don't think it's as difficult as everyone thinks it is but it is the language that everyone's learning now," Liu addressed the comedian's view and educated him that Mandarin was fast gaining recognition in schools around the world.
Fans sensed the tension between the two and called out Ferguson's uncomfortable way of bringing up Lui's origin, "You can tell she was kinda over the flirting after a while, but it’s rare when a lady doesn’t like Craig’s flirting," a viewer noted. "Can we clone Lucy Liu?!?! OMG, she's goddamn gorgeous. And she's so feisty it's attractive as hell," a fan praised the 'Old Guy' actress' personality. In 2015, Liu candidly discussed the discrimination she faced in Hollywood during her early days of acting. "You're in the minority you don't have as many options," she said while appearing on the 'Q with Tom Power' podcast. In a 2020 exclusive with Variety, she called herself the 'black sheep' in Hollywood for constantly facing racism, only after the success of 'Charlie's Angels' was her work widely recognized.