ASIAN AMERICAN PERSONALITIES






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GS: Your Old Navy commercial was a source of some controversy due to your having been given the line “I like my men strong and good-looking” while being paired with four non-Asian men. What is your feeling on that controversy?
LL: Can I say that it was totally stupid? I was really hurt by that. I was so excited that Old Navy wanted to hire me in the first place. To be honest, when we had the first meeting and they told me about it, I said, “There will be an Asian guy, right?” They said, “Yeah.” I show up. There is no Asian guy. But you know they're like, “I'm not the one who did the casting.” And just so you know, the president of Old Navy is and was a Chinese American woman. And the woman who hired me was a Corean American woman. I started getting all this heat, it was so ridiculous. That really just made me feel bad that Asian men feel so insecure about this. I was like, “Come on!” This really made companies like Old Navy rethink hiring an Asian as a lead in a commercial.

GS: If you were given the same opportunity would you do it again?
LL: Yes.

GS: Even if you knew it was four non-Asian men?
LL: It was good money. It was a fun commercial. I asked them if all ethnic backgrounds were going to be representeed. Would I do it if I knew there were going to be no Asian guy...?
     What really hurt me was that I've been so conscientious about helping the Asian community and being present and so forth and when that happened it was, “My god all that for this?”

GS: We don't think you were the main focus.
LL: I got a lot of s*** for it. “Sellout...” My relationship with Rick was founded on [my] trying to “rehabilitate my image”?

GS: What did Rick think of it?
LL: Rick didn't even think anything of it. It bothered me but he was like, it's so stupid. Don't even bring it up to me. I don't even want to hear it. I'm not even going to give it the time of day.”
     My relationship with Rick wasn't even about him being Asian. He happened to be an amazing... It was so not about me wanting to date an Asian anybody. I date people I'm interested in. And that's another thing that's always weird, people casting judgment on who I date.

GS: Guess it comes with the territory.
LL: I unfortunately am very sensitive and I need to not pay so much attention to it.
GS: What advice would you give Asian Americans seeking a career in TV journalism?
LL: If it's what you really want to do, while you're unmarried and don't have kids, go for it. It certainly is a struggle but my whole thing with the Asian community in general is, stop criticizing and do it. So much criticism of me because I did the commercial or certain actresses because they play these stereotypical roles. Well if it's ticking you off so much, then you write a script.

GS: You've had one of the smoothest, easiest and most successful carrers of anyone in TV journalism.
LL: Smoothest and easiest?

GS: You started at the age of 15. You moved onto a pretty good job at Channel One, then to national exposure on The View, and now you're doing NGUE. It seems that you've always enjoyed smooth progress in your career.
LL: I've been lucky with the jobs I've gotten but I feel like I'm gonna have an anxiety attack every single day of my life because I work so hard and...

GS: What causes you anxiety?
LL: ...It is completely relentless. What could cause anxiety? From the second I wake up in the morning, I'm obligated to do this, that and the other. I'm either writing or researching or making calls or I'm interviewing or being interviewed or I'm giving speeches. It is completely relentless. I'm pitching show ideas, stories, I'm pitching myself. It is truly relentless. Would I have it any other way? No, becuase I'm completely a type-A personality. If I even slow it down a notch, I get bored. It's about persistence and more persistence. If you get a door slammed on your face, knock down another one.

GS: How long can you keep this up?
LL: That's a question I've been contemplating a lot lately. I know that at some point I'm gonna want to have a family and settle down and I physically won't be ale to maintain this kind of schedule. I'm on a plane half of my life. I have an apartement in DC and I average three to five days in it a month because I'm constantly on the road. So I don't know probably another couple of years and then I'll reassess. I'm always writing and pitching other shows that I'm not even hosting, as a producer. PAGE 8

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“ I know that at some point I'm gonna want to have a family and settle down and I physically won't be ale to maintain this kind of schedule.”