The Office guest star Kat Ahn calls out show’s portrayal of Asian women

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

The Office guest star Kat Ahn played a Benihana waitress in a 2006 episode of the show but now the actress is slamming the popular comedy series for problematic jokes about her character.

The 2006 episode in question is "A Benihana Christmas" and it features a scene with two Asian American waitresses from the restaurant accompanying Michael (Steve Carell) and Andy (Ed Helms) back to Dunder Mifflin for a holiday party. Michael refers to the Benihana as "Asian Hooters"  and he also marks one of the waitresses' arms with a Sharpie so that he'll be able to tell the two women apart. Kat Ahn, who guest-starred as one of the two Asain American waitresses, spoke with "The Washington Post" nearly 15 years after the episode has aired and she details how her excitement for appearing on the show quickly crumbled once she realized her character was "just there to be the joke." Ahn went on to say "You're told to shut up and be grateful. Actors have no power until they become a star." From Ahn's point of view, doing the episode has also affected her personal life, as she also explained how the joke from the episode would continue to come up for years to come. This includes a co-worker once attempting to draw on her arm in reference to the controversial storyline.

This isn't the first time that Ahn has spoke out about the guest role and its negative implications. Ahn took to TikTok in January and she detailed how the show depicted Asian women in a problematic manner. In the video, Ahn explains "The storyline with myself and the other Asian American actress is that we were the 'uglier' version of the actresses at Benihana…Also that all Asian people look alike; we're one big monolith, and we're just one big, walking stereotype without any personality or individuality, which is problematic."

The problematic depiction wasn't lost on other stars of the show. Series stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey analyze the show on a popular podcast called Office Ladies. The duo addressed the concerns, and while the actresses explained the thought process behind the joke, they agree that the Sharpie moment was cringeworthy and likely wouldn't make it to air today.

The Office once dominated on Netflix for years after its original run on NBC but it has since moved to NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service this year. The two-part episode "A Benihana Christmas" is still streaming on Peacock and remains intact as of now but if they feel the pressure I'm sure they'll make moves to remove it. The streamer has been trimming down offensive content from its library of WWE programming which means that an episode of The Office isn't safe either.

What are YOUR thoughts on the "A Benihana Christmas" episode of The Office?