Fox’s first upfront presentation as an independent network was overshadowed by a racially insensitive comment made by NFL Sunday host and former The Masked Singer contestant Terry Bradshaw.
He made the cringeworthy remark during onstage banter among NFL presenters tied to the Super Bowl. He referenced his stint on The Masked Singer, where he said he was “kicked off by Alan Thicke and the little short guy from Japan.”
While confusing The Masked Singer judge Robin Thicke with his late father Alan could be a slip of the tongue, there was no reasonable way to justify the comment clearly targeted at fellow Masked Singer judge Ken Jeong who is American-born of Korean descent.
The controversy spilled into the Fox upfront party where it was a main topic of conversation. By then, there was chatter that Bradshaw was calling Jeong to apologize.
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That was later confirmed by an official statement from Bradshaw, released Monday night.
I made an insensitive remark today about Ken, who I’ve known for some time. I’ve spoken to him about the importance of cultural respect and apologized for my offensive comments. I would like to also apologize to the Asian-American community for my insensitivity.
It is unclear whether Jeong and Bradshaw had interacted backstage at the Fox presentation which they both attended. Joeng made no reference to Bradshaw or his comment when he appeared alongside the other Masked Singer judges at the end of the event.
