Red Symons has come under fire following an interview with an ABC Radio podcaster, in which he asked the host if she was "yellow" and "What's the deal with Asians?".
The former Hey Hey It's Saturday star – who hosts ABC Radio Melbourne's Breakfast slot – was interviewing ABC Radio presenter Beverley Wang about her new podcast It's Not a Race, when the conversation took an immediate uncomfortable turn.
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Opening the interview, Symons told Wang he was "not happy" over her show because he had a similar idea for a radio segment about "contemporary race issues in Australia".
"Except my segment was called 'What's the deal with Asians?'," he said.
"Well, let's tackle that," Wang replied. "What is the deal with Asians, Red?"
"No, I ask the questions," the host replied.
"It's just a useful general question about the nature of our culture, and how one should, can, might interact with people who might have a different cultural background.
"First question is, are they all the same?" he asked.
The uncomfortable exchange continued when Symons asked Wang – who was born in Canada, of Taiwanese descent – if she was "yellow", where she was from in China, and if "they" spoke "Mandarin or Cantonese".
"Who's 'they'?" Wang replied.
"The people in Taiwan!" Symons responded, voice rising.
"They speak Taiwanese and they speak Mandarin. And in Canada where I'm from, they speak English and French," Wang replied.
"I knew that. But you're probably from the west coast of Canada..." Symons said.
"Why's that, Red?" Wang countered.
"Because it's closer to Asia."
This and other questions Red Symons asked me
— beverley wang (@beverleywang) June 15, 2017
Listen: https://t.co/aS4Lmtn3hs pic.twitter.com/4oZq5QeWdj
Throughout the remainder of the 20-minute exchange, Symons also defended Hey Hey It's Saturday's infamous Red Faces "blackface" controversy, facetiously challenged discussions about "cultural appropriation", and got Wang's name wrong, referring to her as "Jenny".
Sources inside the ABC told Fairfax Media Symons was hauled into meetings with management on Friday morning after the full interview was made public.
A staff member at the station said the full audio was never intended to be broadcast, with a heavily edited version going to air during Monday's program.
The excerpt has drawn criticism on social media from commenters who cringed at Symons' antagonistic approach to discussing race, and his "bonkers" questions to Wang.
This red symons interview with beverley wang is absolutely bonkers. Hey Hey incident - “alleged to be blackface” https://t.co/K4NVFEetvJ
— Bec Shaw (@Brocklesnitch) June 15, 2017
Here's why we need the brilliant @beverleywang's new podcast #ItsNotARace. Crikey. Mouth ajar for a full 20 mins. https://t.co/Uz0alYqBzw
— Melanie Tait (@MelanieTait) June 15, 2017
I had pretty much talked myself out of an insane take on Australia's deep race problem, then this Red Symons bullshit pops up
— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) June 15, 2017
Chrissakes. When a leading ABC radio personality asks an Asian colleague "are you yellow?" we have a problem https://t.co/cS2ms3mxLb
— Marc Fennell (@MarcFennell) June 15, 2017
Symons and Wang have been approached for comment.