'Chinese Food' Song Deemed Offensive, Viral Video Producer Responds
The mastermind behind the infamous, yet super-viral, Rebecca Black "Friday" song unleashed a new song, "Chinese Food," this week that instantly became another Internet sensation.
But it's controversial this time, with some claiming the song is offensive because of its overt use of stereotypes.
Ark Music Factory co-founder Patrice Wilson, who wrote and produced "Friday," which now has more than 220 million views on YouTube, created the song, "Chinese Food," which features 11-year-old Alison Gold's singing about the Chinese food dishes she loves to eat after a night of hitting the club.
The Los Angeles-based production company is known for its sassy, tongue-in-cheek, teeny pop tunes. Wilson has also found success with his "It's Thanksgiving" song from teen singer Nicole Westbrook.
But the imagery used in the "Chinese Food" music video, which was posted on YouTube three days ago and already has more than 7 million views, has some crying foul.
With lyrics like, "I love Chinese food. You know that it's true. I love fried rice, I love noodles, I love chow mein, chow m-m-m-mein," Alison and other young girls in the video are seen dressed in geisha garb - even though geisha is from Japanese culture. In another scene, they are playing Monopoly to the tune of "I like Chinese food and some wonton soup. Get me broccoli while I play Monopoly."
The camera zooms in on a dog figurine on Oriental Avenue on a Monopoly board.
In another scene, Alison is frolicking through a field with Wilson, in a giant panda suit, by her side. At the end of the video, the giant panda throws a fortune cookie at the camera.
Eddie Huang, the chef and restaurateur behind the best-selling memoir, "Fresh Off The Boat," was one of many who took to Twitter to express outrage about the "Chinese Food" song. Huang let out a string of ranting tweets, writing, "For real, s- is mega offensive" and "ARE U IDIOTS AT BILLBOARD SUPPORTING THIS RACIST S-?"
When reached for comment about the claims of racism in the song, Wilson told "Nightline" Wednesday night, "I just really love Chinese food and that is why I wrote a song about it."
"People are entitled to their opinion," he added.