And now he’s out…
NBC has been broadcasting the Olympic Games since 1964 — and certainly, over the course of more than five decades, mistakes have been made.
But one especially awkward mistake, which was made during the early hours of coverage in Pyeongchang, South Korea, saw an American broadcaster make an insensitive remark about the host nation.
It all started when NBC correspondent Joshua Cooper Ramo joined hosts Katie Couric and Mike Tirico to provide some background — and he happened to notice that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in the crowd.
Up to that point, people had just been complaining about Ramo’s understanding of Asian culture:
“Ramo’s endless generalities about what constituted ‘Asian’ culture felt about as deep as a Wikipedia entry.” https://t.co/rsoivjxZG9
— Alex Burns (@alexburnsNYT) February 11,2018
But then things got immeasurably worse.
The Washington Post reported:
But Ramo’s big misstep came when he noticed Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan in the crowd and offered what he knew about the country’s history with Korea.
Japan was “a country which occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945,” Ramo said, correctly (though he did not mention that historians say the Japanese army forced tens of thousands of Koreans into sex slavery.)
“But,” Ramo continued, “every Korean will tell you that Japan as a cultural and technological and economic example has been so important to their own transformation.”
However, the immediate backlash proved Ramo wrong — most Koreans did not believe that Japan was an “example” of any kind — and a petition quickly circulated, demanding that he apologize.
Social media users dragged Ramo:
NBC commentator said that Korea appreciate the Japanese colonial ship.
Do you thank Japan for the Pearl Harbor raids?
Do not insult.
— 똑바로 살라고! (@xYXJfcmJGh2MfuR) February 10,2018
Korean news outlets also attacked Ramo and NBC:
NBC issued a statement in response to the backlash:
We apologized quickly both in writing and on television for a remark made by one of our presenters during Friday night’s Opening Ceremony. We’re very gratified that [the Pyeongchang Olympic Committee] has accepted that apology. We look forward to the next two weeks of competition by the athletes, and to showcasing the beauty of Korea, its culture and state-of-the-art technology.
NBC also confirmed that Ramo’s assignment to assist with Olympic coverage — which was intended to be temporary — has now been terminated.
