Desperate Housewives Insults Filipino Doctors
Written by rhodilee on October 3, 2007 – 7:08 pm
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feeds. Thanks for visiting!
A racist remark from the show Desperate Housewives aired on September 30 resulted in Filipino Americans to start an online petition demanding apology from ABC and the show.
The Scene
When Susan, played by actress Terri Hatcher, was told by her doctor that she might be hitting menopause, she remarked,
“Can I just check those diplomas because I just want to make sure that they are not from some med school in the Philippines?”
Update: ABC and the show’s producer already made an apology.
Check out the youtube video at this link
Related Links:
Petition against ABC
October 4th, 2007 at 7:27 am
In my opinion, those lines were said because some Filipinos used fake papers to work abroad. And also, as what have the line said, “…I just want to make sure they’re not from some med school in the Philippines,” it is true that only a small number of Medicine schools are competent enough to the standards of Medicine. And I just can’t understand why this is a great fuss since I have seen a lot of movies that has bad jokes about Filipinos but no one seem to care. Was it because Filipinos in the field of Medicine are affected by the joke?
By the way, im a Filipino. Bato-bato sa langit, ang tamaan wag magalit.
October 4th, 2007 at 9:44 am
no its because the producers generalized the med school standards of the Philippines. they couldve said something like, i want to make sure theyre not taken from the streets of the philippines..
October 4th, 2007 at 5:53 pm
they think they know it all..huh!
Filipinos are smarter than them in many ways. And HELLO!!!! where in the world they hire medical staffs? in the Phils, right? The writer should’ve think many times before submitting that Mother f&*%$# script!
October 4th, 2007 at 5:57 pm
The producers of Desperate Housewives already issued a public apology. Check this out:
http://rhodilee.com/producers-of-desperate-housewives-and-abc-issue-public-apology/
October 4th, 2007 at 10:41 pm
actually….there are lots of great med school in the philippines. how come i have a lot of classmates who are foreigners? and most of them are americans.
October 5th, 2007 at 12:26 am
and my personal comment (rainnenaj)
I understand everyone’s sentiments for I was angry, insulted and hurt as a filipino too. But they already ask for apology and I guess our message against their mockery has been heard loud and clear. People makes mistakes and they did……..as a catholic country we must learn to forgive.
they are wrong to say those things because we take pride of our medical professionals all over the world but part of it is true because indeed there’s some pinoy’s who are making fake transcript of records and diplomas to work abroad. so, i guess we filipinos just had a taste of our own medicine. i guess the moral of this event is to learn from our mistakes.
October 5th, 2007 at 6:20 am
Response to this seems a little melodramatic, no? How is it when Americans make jokes about Canada, it’s just another funny joke about Canada? When it’s directed at a generally non-white country, it’s racist?
I appreciate that racism is alive and well in the US, but I think this is one of those “cute” little jokes that could easily have been poking fun at America’s ignorance of other countries.
If anything in the US is flourishing these days, it’s censorship.
If Canadians took every American joke lobbed in their direction seriously, they’d all be in therapy.
October 5th, 2007 at 8:30 am
I agree with Mr. Anonymous… take a grip… it’s just a joke… i’m a filipino too….
October 5th, 2007 at 8:57 am
MASYADO KAYONG MA-PRIDE !!!
DIYAN KAYO MAGALING EH.
YOU PEOPLE ARE TOO PROUD !!!
KAYA WALANG ASENSO ANG PILIPINAS
PURO KAYO YABANG !!!
October 5th, 2007 at 10:35 am
It was a nice move for ABC 7 to issue an apology but it did not repair the damage done because the apology was aired in the Philippines. Apology accepted, yes, but repair the damage done. The Americans, immigrants and people around the world where the Desperate Housewives shows are being shown will still have the wrong notion that Philippine Medical Schools do not meet the standards required to practice in America and that Filipino Doctors are just second rate physicians in America.
Should we just be satisfied with this after all this uproar? ABC 7 should issue such apology over all American TV networks in America and not just in the Philippines. I did not even know that the apology was issued until a friend emailed me this.
Thank you very much.
BOYTEE
Concerned Filipino in Maplewood, New Jersey, USA
‘Desperate’ apology over Philippines slur
Thu Oct 4, 6:46 AM ET
MANILA (AFP) - Makers of hit US television series “Desperate Housewives” have apologised for a slur against Filipino medical workers that caused an uproar in the Southeast Asian country. The apology was sent to Philippine broadcaster ABS-CBN’s bureau in the United States and aired in the Philippines on Thursday following protests by the Manila government.
“The producers of ‘Desperate Housewives’ and ABC Studios offer our sincere apologies for any offense caused by the brief reference in the season premiere,” cable news channnel ANC quoted the statement as saying.”There was no intent to disparage the integrity of any aspect of the medical community in the Philippines,” it said. The episode showed actress Teri Hatcher, who plays Susan Mayer, asking during a medical consultation to check “those diplomas because I want to make sure that they’re not from some med school in the Philippines.”
The apology was made a day after chief aide to Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said the line of dialogue appeared to be a “racial slur.” Philippine Senators said the apology was not enough, and urged their Foreign Affairs Department to lodge a formal protest with the US government. “I am mortally offended by the statement because it betrayed the racial prejudice and denigrates the excellent performance of world-class Filipino doctors in the US,” said Senator Miriam Santiago, whose sister a doctor is working in Los Angeles.