Remember when My Girl Actress Lee Da Hae Apologized to Filipinos?
It was 13 years ago when recently married Lee Da Hae had to apologize to the Filipinos for allegedly mocking the Pinoy accent on a Korean TV show.
In a clip from the now-defunct KBS2TV variety show, "Sweet Night", she was asked to speak in a variety of accents. Since she graduated from an Australian high school, she has a good command of English,
It was fine when she spoke with the American and British accents. But when she spoke in the Filipino accent (as shown in the show's translation), she did it in a rather insulting manner which angered Filipinos.
When Lee Da Hae got wind of this, she personally apologized through her then-Twitter account, cherry4eva84
First I'd like to give you my sincere apologies for what seems to be a misunderstanding.
It has come to my attention that many of you from the Philippines have posted comments protesting that I was being derisive by mimicking Filipinos when they speak English.
Therefore, in light of this matter, I'd like to take this opportunity to clear the air. Despite what many people believe, I did NOT mention anything about the Philippines or Filipino accent whilst on the TV show.
On the other hand, I recall bringing up Southeast Asia and not the Philippines, and the subtitles were inserted when the show was being edited which I was not aware of until it was aired.
The TV show where this footage was taken from was designed to amuse its audience and my sole purpose was to entertain the viewers by coming up with lighthearted stories.
Since the producer knows that I speak English he asked me if I could share any episodes that touch upon the English language.
As we all know every country has a typical accent when its people speak English (including myself) so after giving it some thought, I came up with a few lines where I simply tried to compare different English accents: the somewhat rigid British accent and beginners in Southeast Asia whose English tends to be a little hard-edged. No pun or ridicule was intended.
As an individual who use to take English classes over the phone with a Filipino instructor, I give you my word that even the mere thought of mocking Filipinos would never cross my mind. I cannot tell you how much Filipino fans mean to me and as much as I love them, I would in no way hurt or upset them.
I hope I have clarified any misunderstandings and once again I am truly sorry if I inadvertently hurt anyone's feelings.
-I really love you, my Filipino fans.
Here's the video for those who are curious.
I really loved Lee Da Hae on My Girl, and this was not a big deal to me when I first read it. I just remembered it now when I read one comment from one of my posts on the page.
I still think she just wants the segment to be funny, but I cannot blame the others who got insulted either. We are one of the best English-speaking nationalities and I don't think we sound that way, either.
But it's been so long so, right now, I just want to say Best Wishes to Lee Da Hae and Se7en on their recent wedding!
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