Jimmy Kimmel Live continues to be criticized over a recent joke made by a child on the show. In a segment from Oct. 16, Kimmel asked several of six- and seven-year-olds what the US should do about its $1.3 trillion debt to China, to which one child replied, “Kill everyone in China.†After a backlash, ABC apologized for the segment, but that didn’t stop a petition making it all the way to the White House. Now, China’s foreign minister is asking for more, saying in a press conference yesterday, “ABC should face up to its mistake and respond with a sincere attitude to the reasonable demands by Chinese people in America, and prevent a similar incident from occurring again.â€
ABC and Kimmel have continued to apologize for the segment. On Friday, the network released another statement, saying “The simple fact is, the segment should never have been broadcast. Systems we have in place for these types of things did not function properly, and steps have been made to try and prevent this kind of egregious mistake from occurring in the future.†And appearing before protestors last month, Kimmel said, “I do want to apologize to all of you if I upset you. We should not have put that on the air.â€
But the Chinese press has continued to return to the story, highlighting an exchange between Kimmel and a Chinese journalist who suggested that Chinese Americans are planning to sue him. “Well, in America we have the freedom of the press,†he said. “If they want to waste their money suing me, I’d recommend they don’t do that. But that’s their choice.â€