Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

News Outlets Called Out After Misidentifying Randall Park As Ali Wong's Soon-To-Be Ex Husband

News Outlets Called Out After Misidentifying Randall Park As Ali Wong's Soon-To-Be Ex Husband
Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Several news outlets confused Ali Wong's husband Justin Hakuta for actor Randall Park in recently published stories announcing Wong and Hakuta's divorce, revitalizing the hashtag #wrongasian.

Parade Magazine shared the story accompanying it with a photo of costars Wong and Park at a Netflix premier for the film Always Be My Maybe in which the two played the main love interests.


Yet, the headline read "#AliWong and Justin Hakuta Splitting Nearly 8 Years After Marriage." Her husband was nowhere to be found in the picture.

See the photo below:

@ParadeMagazine/Twitter

User Phil Yu shared the story on Twitter, captioning the post:

"Come on!"
"Can we not ruin the news of Ali Wong’s divorce with Wrong Asian racism?"

One person jokingly added:

"In their defense, Justin Hakuda and Randall Park were both Asian on the same night this one time."

MSN made the same mistake, featuring their story of Wong and Hakuta's divorce with a single photo of just Randall Park.

@MSN/Twitter

Someone sharing the MSN story said:

"Cool, but that’s not her husband, that’s Randall Park."

Yu also shared MSN's mistake, tweeting:

"And then you’ve got MSN over here with a photo that is neither Ali Wong nor Justin Hakuta. #wrongasian"

Wong and Hakuta, who have two daughters together, met in 2010 and were married four years later. Hakuta, not a TV personality himself, is an entrepreneur and formerly helped lead healthcare company GoodRX as its vice president.

Ali Wong works as a comedian, actress and producer, famous for her stand-up specials and gaining more recent attention for her role in the movie Always Be My Maybe which was released in 2019. She has included her husband in her standup, giving comedy fans some insight into their personal lives and Hakuta's many professional accolades.

Many are wondering how the media companies made such a blunder.



Parade Magazine has since put out an apology, saying:

"We understand how hurtful this photo mistake was and the impact it can have, and we sincerely regret it."
"We would like to apologize to Ali Wong, Justin Hakuta, Randall Park, and everyone who may have been hurt by our error."
"We will implement stronger measures going forward to make sure it doesn't happen again"
"Our sincere apologies."

Having also been mistaken for another Asian, one person tweeted:

"Embarrassing."
"An incident of interchangeable Asians. Using a photo of Ali Wong co-star Randall Park instead of Justin Hakuta."
"I have been mistaken for other Asians by people that I actually spend time with."


The hashtag #wrongasian is not a new one.

Other companies have made similar mistakes. Confusing different members of the Asian community has plagued the internet for years.

See the mistake Letterboxd made below.

"[W]hen you're the biggest female Asian movie star in the whole goddamn world and still get #WrongAsian-ed."

Crazy Rich Asians star Nico Santos spoke out in 2020 when he was mistaken for producer Han Jin-Won.

Dino-Ray Ramos retweeted:

"Further proving that Hollywood is ignorant."
"Do better."
"I'm tired. #WrongAsian"

@DinoRay/Twitter

MSN has yet to provide a statement, but both publications removed the original photos from the articles, replacing them with images of Wong and Hakuta.

More from Trending

Screenshot of Lisa and Dr. Mehmet Oz
The Katie Miller Podcast

Dr. Oz Accidentally Tells The Truth About The Trump Administration's Gaslighting—And Yeah, That Tracks

Speaking on the podcast of former Trump administration official Katie Miller, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Trump's administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, accidentally told the truth about the administration's gaslighting of the American public.

Oz admitted that people "might not like us" but then had a Freudian slip that says all you need to know about an administration that is called out on a daily basis for openly lying and obfuscating.

Keep ReadingShow less
Karoline Leavitt
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Karoline Leavitt Gets Awkward Reminder After Claiming Anything On Truth Social Is 'Directly From President Trump'

During the Wednesday press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt directly contradicted her boss, MAGA Republican President Donald Trump.

Leavitt told the White House press corps:

Keep ReadingShow less
Keke Palmer attends the 8th Annual American Black Film Festival Honors at SLS Hotel.
Savion Washington/WireImage via Getty Images

Keke Palmer Explains Why She's 'Almost 100% Sure' She's Asexual In Candid Post—And Fans Are Here For Her

Keke Palmer had the internet talking after revealing she is “almost 100 percent sure” that she’s asexual. The Emmy-winning actress shared the revelation in a sultry Valentine’s Day Instagram post featuring a chic pixie cut, a champagne-toned halter corset top, a thin gold necklace, and stud earrings.

But while the photos turned heads, it was her caption that sparked the conversation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups; Brad Reese's Open Letter to Todd Scott
Julia Ewan/TWP/Getty Images; Brad Reese/LinkedIn

Grandson Of Reese's Founder Shames Hershey Co. For 'Replacing' Candy's Iconic Ingredients In Powerful Open Letter

Brad Reese, the grandson of H.B. Reese, who invented Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, is now speaking up about the quality of the product and his grandfather's original promise: real peanut butter and real milk chocolate.

When H.B. Reese invented the deliciously simple candy, he pointed out that using real ingredients wasn't a marketing tactic for him; it was a promise to the consumer that they knew what they were eating, and that what they were eating was real food.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elon Musk
Harun Ozalp/Anadolu via Getty Images

X User Asks What The First Thing You'd Do If You 'Wake Up As Elon Musk'—And Everyone Had The Same Idea

Billionaire Elon Musk was widely mocked on his own platform after X user @buffys opened a veritable Pandora's box by asking what people would do if they woke up as him one day.

The question was simple:

Keep ReadingShow less