People in WWE were apparently as surprised by the controversial Carlito segment on this week’s episode of Raw as the fans.
The October 21 episode of the Red Branded show featured a backstage segment involving Adam Pearce, Carlito, IYO SKY, and Kairi Sane. As the two Damage CTRL members walked out of the frame, Carlito said ‘I gotta learn Chinese.’
Both the female stars are Japanese. In the case of IYO, she has faced discrimination in the past as well and she has been subjected to ‘go back to China’ comments from audience members. So the line raised a lot of questions.
People In WWE Were In Disbelief
According to reports from Fightful, the claim from one member of the staff is that the line was not scripted. Those they have spoken to were ‘in disbelief’ that it was said.
A number of people in the company were not happy with the segment, though there is no news on any action being taken after it.
The line has been cut from the video of the segment WWE uploaded on socials. So it appears that the company is at least aware of its controversial nature.
This segment comes at a time when WWE’s creative process is under scrutiny. The company’s Chief Content Officer Triple H was recently criticized for his answer on the lack of representation for black talent on WWE PPVs.
Former WWE head writer Michael Leonardi also opened up about plans for a culturally insensitive segment that had been planned for Martin Luther King Day in 2016 which he changed at the last minute.