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

Ramy Youssef and Elmo
@sesamestreet/Instagram

MAGA Is Predictably Melting Down Over Video Of Elmo Learning New Arabic Words For Arab American Heritage Month

A clip released by Sesame Street on Thursday, April 16, showed Elmo with Egyptian-American actor, comedian, producer, director, and Golden Globe winner Ramy Youssef to celebrate Arab American Heritage Month.

The 41-second video showed Youssef teaching Elmo the Arabic words "salamu alaykum" and "habibi."

Keep ReadingShow less
Nancy Sinatra; Donald Trump
Jim Spellman/WireImage; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

Nancy Sinatra Fires Back At Trump With Four Powerful Words After He Uses Her Father's Song In Cryptic Post

Singer Nancy Sinatra, the daughter of the iconic crooner Frank Sinatra, criticized President Donald Trump after he posted a video featuring her father's version of the song "My Way" to Truth Social amid his ongoing war and negotiations with Iran.

"My Way," a song about an individual looking back on their decision to live life on their own terms, was one of the late Sinatra's signature hits. Trump posted a video of Sinatra singing the song with no comment or explanation.

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Pete Buttigieg; Donald Trump
@Acyn/X; Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Pete Buttigieg Explains Why Trump's AI Jesus Post Was So Offensive To Christian Conservatives In Viral Video

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg condemned President Donald Trump for posting an AI-generated post depicting himself as Jesus Christ, describing it as "insulting" to both people's faith and their intelligence.

Earlier this month, the Pope criticized Trump's widely unpopular war in Iran and called on the world "to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate and is not resolving anything."

Keep ReadingShow less
Screenshot of Donald Trump
@atrupar/X

Trump Dragged After Gushing Over His Own Signature In Ultra-Cringey Viral Clip

President Donald Trump was super proud of himself after he signed an executive order to make certain psychedelic drugs more available to treat mental health conditions, taking an opportunity to boast about his own signature.

Trump's order approves $50 million in federal funding to expand access to certain therapies and directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fast-track its review of drugs like psilocybin and ibogaine. He was joined by the likes of podcaster Joe Rogan and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in the Oval Office.

Keep ReadingShow less
Charlize Theron (left) responds to Timothée Chalamet’s (right) controversial comments about ballet and opera.
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; Jamie McCarthy/WireImage

Charlize Theron Gives Timothée Chalamet A Blunt Reality Check About His Future After His Comments Insulting Ballet

Timothée Chalamet declaring that “no one cares” about ballet and opera was always going to age poorly. It just happened faster than expected.

Enter Charlize Theron, who didn’t just disagree—she flipped the whole argument, suggesting that while centuries-old art forms will endure, Chalamet’s own career may be far more vulnerable in the age of artificial intelligence.

Keep ReadingShow less