Ken Jeong Reveals the Impact of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ on the Asian American Community
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The Masked Singer’s Ken Jeong is currently in London filming The Pentaverate. This Netflix limited series stars Mike Myers and Keegan-Michael Key. While he couldn’t give away much about the show, he said that he is “having a blast” when he joined Today with Hoda & Jenna. Jeong credits Myers as one of his role models and heroes. He also revealed the impact Crazy Rich Asians has had on the future of Asian American’s in comedy. He said the movie has a cast full of role models for his twin daughters.
Ken Jeong’s Daughter’s Loved Asian Female-Centric Comedy ‘Crazy Rich Asians’
Jeong’s wife and twin daughter’s, who just graduated middle school, stayed home while he is off filming. He and his wife, Tran Ho, love seeing how their daughters’ individual personalities are blossoming as they prepare to enter high school. Jeong said that being a father and seeing his daughters grow is “the biggest joy” of his life. Host Hoda Kotb asked if Jeong’s girls saw his film Crazy Rich Asians.
“They saw Crazy Rich Asians in the theater with us and they really loved it,” he said. “I mean you know Awkwafina is one of their favorite actors right now and I really felt it was a very strong not only female-centric comedy but Asian female-centric comedy. So if anything, that movie really defines our future of Asian Americans in comedy.”
Everyone wants to know if there is going to be a sequel to Crazy Rich Asians. Jeong would not reveal any details about a sequel or when it would be released. Instead, he reverted back to talking about The Pentaverate. Deadline reported that a sequel was in the works in 2018 at Warner Bros. There has not been any official announcement about the movie.
In 2019, Jeong was invited to the University of Miami to speak about minority representation in film. He felt like the entertainment industry was starting to make progress since his breakout role in the film Knocked Up. Jeong did echo the sentiment that more work can be done to add more roles that accurately portray Asian Americans instead of stereotypes.
“It’s so rare,” Jeong said about roles for Asian Americans. “I’ve already seen an evolution.”
In April, Jeong teamed up with Olivia Munn and several other celebrities to create a moving video in response to the rise in anti-Asian racism around the country. He also hosted See Us Unite For Change in May on MTV. The event aimed to amplify voices and encourage education about the Asian American experience.
