Bowen Yang Asks Fans To Stop Tagging Him In Photos Of Other Asian People On TikTok

Bowen Yang has grown tired of the toxicity of social media. The Saturday Night Live star revealed his annoyance with TikTok in his latest episode of Las Culturistas with cohost Matt Rogers. 

“I don’t think so, honey — TikTok or at least my experience of it, because it’s not even the algorithm anymore… my experience of TikTok is I log on, and 20 of my notifications are of someone who thinks they’re being cute, tagging me saying, ‘Oh my god, this person looks just like Bowen Yang.’ It’s an Asian person,” Yang said.

He added, “Trust me. I’ve seen it. You guys can stop tagging me in that. No, thank you. It makes me not wanna use the platform.”

Yang has been hosting the podcast since 2016, but ultimately gained recognition for his guest appearances on the shows Broad City and High Maintenance. In 2018, he was hired by Saturday Night Live as a writer before eventually becoming the show’s first Chinese-American cast member the next year. 

“I guess that’s just not gonna go away. I guess I have to accept this as part of my life,” Yang continued of the harmful social media experiences he’s had with fans. “It’s just a weird thing and I hate the Internet because of it. I think this is a great reason to leave.”

As Yang continued to rise, so did his opportunities as he discovered a small role in the stage production of Wicked was enlarged for him to appear in the film version. 

However, the actor quickly learned that an increase in popularity could make him the perfect target for unceasing harassment. 

“Listen, what a huge honor to be in this movie that is, you know, being appreciated by so many people,” he said. “However – “I am receiving an uptick of the most lobotomized people you didn’t even think were out there in this world… this is not related to me wanting to voodoo doll, potentially kill anybody if I had the power. But I am over here thinking, ‘Wow, human beings, man. Our brains are small. We are a stupid species. We are dumb. Myself included.'”

While Yang is no longer interested in being at the center of these online remarks, he thinks the ignorant commentary comes down to a lack of diversity in many people’s lives. 

“These people who don’t see a lot of Asian people in their everyday lives, I’m top of mind to them. So they see an Asian person on the internet, they go, ‘Oh my god. That’s Bowen Yang. Bowen Yang should do a sketch, a skit on SNL where he plays this little baby who’s dancing.’ I’m like, ‘Listen to yourself. Do you think that could happen? Do you think I’m over here thinking I’m gonna do that?'”

Last year, Yang announced he was taking a break from podcasting due to “bad bouts of depersonalization.”

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