Marissa Payne of the The Washington Post has published an article about Jinder Mahal’s controversial promo from Tuesday’s SmackDown Live titled, “WWE has dealt with racism before, but a scripted rant has fans chanting ‘that’s too far!’”
For those who missed it, the WWE Champion mocked Shinsuke Nakamura’s Japanese heritage. In addition to criticizing Nakamnura’s (saying “you always rook the same” whether he’s happy or angry), Mahal also referenced Japanese people feasting on cats and dolphins and compared Nakamura to Mr. Miyagi from the Karate Kid movies.
https://youtu.be/y8-6yXcvKRk
Fans in the arena chanted, “that’s too far” and fans on social media shared the same sentiment, calling out WWE for racism.
Who on earth is writing @JinderMahal's promos! They are distasteful and racist! I am not impressed! @WWE sort this out! #SDLive #Nakamura
— Thomas Jackson Kay (@tjkay22) September 20, 2017
HEY @WWE HAVING A BROWN PERSON SAY OPENLY RACIST RHETORIC DOES NOT MAKE IT OK
— the babefollower (@SocksMahoney) September 20, 2017
The entire @JinderMahal racist storyline is disgusting. I'm fine w/ heel heat, but racism shouldn't be a cheap plot device. Do better, @WWE.
— Susurrus (@zomboid_muse) September 20, 2017
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer was quoted in the article, explaining, “Wrestling was always in its own little world. Now everyone watches it, and you can’t get away with those kind of old tricks. The fan base will blame it on the company and not on the heel.” He added that it’s an embarrassing situation for WWE, since “Nobody wants to be called racist.”
A WWE spokesperson issued a statement to the Washington Post about the promo:
“Just like many other TV shows or movies, WWE creates programming with fictional personalities that cover real world issues and sensitive subjects.
As a producer of such TV shows, WWE Corporate is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans.”
Jinder Mahal will defend the WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura at Hell in a Cell on Sunday, 10/8.
