NBC News criticizes Macaulay Culkin after birth of his son over his past comments about 'little Asian babies'

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Macaulay Culkin welcomed his first child with girlfriend Brenda Song earlier this month, and NBC News used the announcement to scold him over 3-year-old remarks he made about the "little Asian babies" he might have with Song.

Culkin and Song announced this week the birth of their son, Dakota, leading NBC News to find experts to denounce his jokes as echoing "the historical dehumanization of Asians as well as fetishization of Asian women, which has made them uniquely vulnerable to sexual and physical violence."

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During a 2018 episode of "The Joe Rogan Experience," Culkin noted Song was Asian, "so I'm gonna have tiny little Asian babies," and compared the couple to John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song welcomed their first child together -- a son named Dakota Song Culkin. (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Stand Up To Cancer)

"It's going to be adorable — a bunch of Sean Lennons running around the house, that's what I'm looking for," Culkin said, adding he felt he could "make Asian jokes because I have an Asian girlfriend kinda thing."

NBC reporter Kimmy Yam wrote the comments "resurfaced" and linked to two tweets criticizing his earlier remarks. She also quoted an Amherst College professor who called the remarks problematic because they are "exoticizing his partner" and any future children they may have.

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Sung Yeon Choimorrow, executive director of the nonprofit National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, told NBC that Culkin was using his girlfriend to think he could understand the struggle of non-White Americans and, even worse, make jokes.

"Choimorrow said the way in which Culkin spoke about his partner and would-be children reflects harmful stereotypes that lead to particularly dangerous consequences for many Asian Americans, especially Asian women," Yam wrote. "Choimorrow said Culkin’s comments echo the historical dehumanization of Asians as well as fetishization of Asian women, which has made them uniquely vulnerable to sexual and physical violence."

Culkin is best known for his role in the 1990 movie "Home Alone" and was one of the biggest child film stars of the 1990s. His son was named in honor of his older sister Dakota, who died in a 2008 car accident.

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Song was also a child actor and starred on the Disney Channel as a teenager. She has since starred in various television shows and movies, including a supporting role in the 2010 Oscar-winning film "The Social Network."