Lawyer sparks furor with post about Asian-Americans, claims she's receiving threats
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In a now-deleted post, lawyer Christina Ignatius compared the Asians and Asian-Americans she has encountered with those in the hit movie "Crazy Rich Asians." (Facebook)
A lawyer in Southern California drew backlash and reportedly received threats last week after an online post that she titled, "The Asians that took over Orange County."
In the now-deleted post, Christina Ignatius compared the Asians and Asian-Americans she has encountered with those in the hit movie "Crazy Rich Asians." Although the post has been deleted, a copy was captured and posted by the Asian-American news site NextShark, which first reported on it.
"My friend said that there is something coming out called Crazy Rich Asians. It reminds me of all the Asians who flooded into Orange County and then took over our mall at South Coast Plaza," Ignatius wrote.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"My friend said that there is something coming out called Crazy Rich Asians. It reminds me of all the Asians who flooded into Orange County and then took over our mall at South Coast Plaza."
She added that she attended the University of California at Irvine with "a lot of rice rockets," claiming Asians "flooded that school."
In other comments, the lawyer referred to the stereotype that Asians are bad drivers.
"They will drive their Mercedes in the carpool lane and then cut across 5 lanes to get over to the mall, as if your car next to them didn't even matter, " she wrote. "That's why we have the term 'driving like an Asian.'"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}After being contacted by the Orange County Register about the furor her post caused, Ignatius said she "didn't have any intent of anger and hatred," so wasn't deserving of criticism and threats.
"If you have no malintent, you didn't do anything wrong," she told the paper. She said the post was "meant as a joke" for her Facebook friends, according to the Register.
"If you have no malintent, you didn't do anything wrong."
“They (Asians) poke fun at themselves,” she said. “I love them. I work with them. I love their culture. That’s why I love ‘The Things Asian Moms Say.’“
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But Susan Kang Schroeder, the Korean-born chief of staff for Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, wrote a Facebook post of her own, denouncing Ignatius' post, according to the Register.
Susan Kang Schroeder, chief of staff for Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas (Orange County District Attorney's Office)
“I am saddened by your racist, insensitive and simply unacceptable post,” she wrote. “It’s hard to imagine that an attorney in Orange County would make such an ignorant post in 2018.”
“It’s hard to imagine that an attorney in Orange County would make such an ignorant post in 2018.”
California's population of more than 39 million people is about 15 percent Asian-American, with other Californians claiming to have some Asian heritage, U.S. Census Bureau data show.