[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
On Wednesday, Teen Wolf star Arden Cho was the victim of a racially motivated attack while walking her dog.
The 35-year-old actress took to Instagram on Thursday to recount the harrowing incident, which she said brought back trauma she experienced as a child. She explained that in addition to using a racist slur, the man who approached her this week screamed that he was going to [WARNING: DISTURBING CONTENT]…
…”motherf**king kill” her and her “f**king dog.”
Related: BTS Reflects On Anti-Asian Discrimination Amid Rise Of Hate Crimes
She shared:
“This along with other obscenities were screamed at me when I was outside walking with my dog last night. I haven’t been this scared in years, he was a couple feet away & started coming towards me. I grabbed Chewy and ran as fast as I could… I’m not crying anymore but I’m still scared, I’m still shaking.”
The Chicago Med actress went on to say that she “used to run at night” but hasn’t “ran in months” amid the rise in Asian and Pacific Islander hate crimes in the past year, adding:
“I still have to walk my dog, so I carry a knife when we go out at night. I know how to fight but I still don’t feel safe. I’m young & fit, I shouldn’t be scared but I am.”
Cho explained that the wave of anti-Asian violence across the country have brought back “all my trauma as a kid,” explaining:
“I’ve been kicked in the face till I was unconscious and hospitalized. I didn’t realize how much that incident shaped my life. How much fear I’ve always lived with.”
In her caption, she writes:
“Please, please #StopAsianHate I can’t breathe. It feels like I’m 10 again & I’m being kicked to death. My mom called me & I couldn’t help but start crying again. She’s so scared to walk outside, even in the day time. I’m sorry mom. She wants me to be strong. So I’ll try. Please help us.”
You can read the full post HERE (though please be warned, you will see an uncensored racial slur).
A report earlier this year showed that hate crimes against Asian Americans skyrocketed nearly 150% in 2020, following the beginning of the novel coronavirus pandemic as then-president Donald Trump mocked COVID-19 with derogatory terms aimed against China. Words have power, and it can’t be denied that Trump’s callous behavior had an effect on the rise in anti-Asian hate.
As Chrissy Teigen recently put it, Trump and other politicians who used such phrases to describe the virus “put a target on Asian people’s backs.” Just last month, as some pandemic guidelines began to loosen up, the United States started to once again see mass shootings, specifically, the heinous attack against local spas in the Atlanta, Georgia area that left eight dead — including six Asian women.
This needs to end. Learn more about what you can do to help HERE.
[Image via FayesVision/WENN]
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