“I humbly apologize to Representative Chang … and to the broader Asian American community.”
Bettie Cook Scott, the Michigan Democrat who referred to her Asian opponent as a “Ching-Chong,” has apologized.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Scott, a member of the Michigan House of Representatives, got into hot water after she referred to her Asian-American opponent, Representative Stephanie Chang, by a racial slur. Specifically, Chang’s husband, Sean Gray, said that he and other voters heard Scott refer to Chang as “ching-chang” and “the ching-chong” during the August 7 primary election.
Other witnesses said that Scoot referred to one of Chang’s campaign volunteers as an “immigrant” and said, “you don’t belong here” and “I want you out of my country.”
Scott, who is African American, allegedly also took exception to black voters voting for an Asian woman instead of “supporting their own people.”
Scott handily lost the primary election, getting only 11 percent of the vote to Chang’s 49 percent. Chang is expected to win the general election for her seat in November.
Chang, for her part, was outraged at Cook’s comments.
“These comments are offensive to all Asian-Americans. It isn’t about me. It’s about an elected official disrespecting entire populations, whether they be Asian-American, immigrant, or residents of Senate District 1 or [Cook’s] own current house district.”
Now, according to The Detroit Metro Times, Scott has apologized, after several community groups, as well as the Michigan Democratic Party, called on her to do so.
In a statement through her representative, Bill Noakes, Scott issued an apology.
“I deeply regret the comments I made that have proven hurtful to so many. Those are words I never should have said.”
She also apologized specifically to Chang, Gray, and to the Asian community in general. She noted that she has reached out to Chang with an offer to meet face-to-face and that she is “praying” for forgiveness from the Asian American community. It is not clear, as of this writing, if Chang has accepted Scott’s offer for a face-to-face meeting.
This is not the first time Bettie Cook Scott has gotten into hot water for her behavior. In 2016, as WJBK-TV (Detroit) reported at the time, Scott got into trouble for being less-than-truthful with the voters about where she lived. Specifically, she simultaneously claimed to live in both Lexington, Michigan, and Detroit, Michigan – which is 70 miles away. It was all reportedly a scheme to dodge property taxes while at the same time to be allowed to run for office in a district that favored her.
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