Olivia Munn has spoken out after a virtual Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) seminar she hosted on Monday was the subject of a racist attack.
The purpose of the online meeting was for Munn—along with the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and Asian American beauty brand Cocokind—to address the prejudice and violence faced by the AAPI community. During the conversation, they were “Zoom-bombed” when an anonymous web user joined the webinar and spammed it with anti-Asian images.
The actress, who recently welcomed a child with comedian John Mulaney, condemned the cyber attack in a statement posted to her Instagram page.
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“Today while hosting a gathering of AAPI women and allies in a conversation about how to stop anti-Asian hate, we were targeted by a zoom bombing of horrific, violent, racially charged images and audio,” Munn wrote. “While it momentarily disrupted our event, we later resumed because these malicious acts will not stop the conversation.”
The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum and Cocokind also shared Munn’s statement, adding that they plan to report the incident to the FBI.
Munn was emphatic that these kinds of hateful acts will not prevent her and her peers from fighting to end anti-Asian racism. “We were communing to celebrate, elevate, and protect the AAPI community, and we were subjected to a hate crime in real-time. It was a cowardly and unconscionable act,” she continued. “But to be clear, the conversation WILL go on… Cheap tactics like these won’t stop our quest for equality, equity, and to stop Asian hate.”
This Zoom-bombing episode is just the latest in a steadily rising number of racist acts and hate crimes against the Asian American community, spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic. Munn has long been outspoken about condemning such violence; last February, she posted an impassioned call to action.
“To simply exist as a minority in this country is seen as a protest to some,” Munn said at the time. “We need help amplifying the outrage. We need help to feel safe in our country. We need help to be safe in our country.”
