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After making a bizarre and racist joke on social media comparing a Black man to an animal, “Law & Order: SVU” actor B.D. Wong is apologizing.
The “very bad joke” in question was a reply to a post from the popular wildlife account @therealtarzann, run by animal educator Mike Holston. In the original post, Holston — who is Black — is holding an animal and inviting followers to “Name this animal… wrong answers only.” Wong responded, “It appears to be a Black man.”
Screenshots spread quickly as users immediately denounced the remark as racist and rooted in a long history of dehumanizing Black people. For centuries, comparing Black people to apes, monkeys, and other animals has been used to justify slavery, violence, segregation, and ongoing inequities. The through line is always the same: stripping away Black humanity.
Late on Monday, Dec. 1, the 65-year-old Tony winner issued a statement saying he takes full responsibility for the harm his recent comment caused.
“I want to elaborate re a racist comment I posted, to clarify that I recognize & accept the responsibility for how terrible it is. It’s also wrong to try to ‘explain’ anything, & I think that causes a further breaking down in folks’ trust,” he wrote on Threads.
Instead of explaining, he said he wanted to focus on how wrong it was “to exploit a despicable, racist trope in the supposed spirit of humor,” stressing that he knows better and offering “no excuses.” He closed by saying he was “very sorry for the hurt I’ve caused and for taking lightly something so deeply injurious.”
This came after a first attempt at an apology that drew nearly as much backlash as the original comment.
In that earlier post, he tried to frame the remark as a misfire while downplaying the seriousness of referring to a Black man as an animal.
“Y’all I made a very bad joke. As most people in hot water do, I deleted it for Damage Control but it’s out there & continues to hurt & disappoint & I’m really sorry about the hurt part,” he wrote.
“Super dumb, but I tried to follow the ‘Wrong Answers Only’ prompt w/the wrongest answer. This succeeded only in that it was Super Wrong,” he went on. “I know nobody gets a free pass. I’m sorry if this #wtfbd moment tarnished any respect you may’ve had for me. & thanks if you advocate for an internet that’s safe for everybody.”
The moment is especially disappointing given Wong’s decades-long career and his public stances on representation. The actor — whose credits include “Jurassic Park,” Disney’s “Mulan,” “Mr. Robot,” and “Law & Order: SVU” — is openly queer and has historically spoken out against bigotry, including racism and stereotyping in theater and Hollywood.
In 2016, he made headlines for speaking out against the yellowface and whitewashing of diverse roles that persist in Hollywood and in theater to this day.
“The tradition of white actors transforming themselves, playing whoever they want, crossing across race, painting themselves up, and doing all sorts of things like that is as deeply entrenched in them as our pain is in us,” Wong said at the time.
