Margaret Cho’s appearance at the 2015 Golden Globes as a North Korean army general and member of the HFPA was the most-talked about bit at Sunday night’s show, with some calling it racist.

Margaret Cho Makes Fun Of North Korea

Cho, who is of Korean descent, first appeared mid-way through the show, after hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler had already joked about North Korea’s hacking of Sony over The Interview. Cho was introduced as a new member of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, representing North Korea’s entertainment magazine, “Movies Wow!” Cho recruited Meryl Streep to participate in the bit, making her pose for a photo, taken by Michael Keaton and photo-bombed by Benedict Cumberbatch.

Cho later joined Fey and Poehler onstage and joked about North Korea’s grand celebrations, and added in a joke about the classification of Orange is the New Black as a comedy and not a drama.

“In North Korea, we know how to put on a show! This is not a show. No, you no have thousand babies playing guitar at the same time. You no have many people holding up many card to make big picture. You no have Dennis Rodman – no basketball at all. Also, I think that Orange is the New Black should be in the drama category. It’s funny, but not ‘Ha-ha’ funny,” Cho said.

Meryl Streep, Margaret Cho, and Movies Wow! pic.twitter.com/mgY8bF4tph

— Golden Globe Awards (@goldenglobes) January 12, 2015

Margaret Cho Bit Called Racist

Reactions to the bit were mixed. Many viewers found Cho’s gutsy satire amusing, but others thought it was just another example of racist comedy. “But oof, that bit with Margaret Cho as the Kim regime’s representative in the Hollywod Foreign Press, which managed a trio of awards-show sins: It was unfunny, racist, and incredibly long…Twenty years ago, Cho was the first Asian-American woman to headline her own sitcom – how did we end up here?” wrote Vulture editors. Audience reactions on Twitter were equally polarized.

The @margaretcho bit was as bad as Mickey Rooney’s Yushioshi. If your punchline is just “haha, silly asians!” you need to write smarter.

— J. Kenji López-Alt (@TheFoodLab) January 12, 2015

If you’re debating if the Golden Globes bit was racist, remember that Margaret Cho isn’t Korean. She is an American that was mocking Koreans

— ♡ Brian Essbe ♡ (@SortaBad) January 12, 2015

@ehmmali Margaret Cho wasn’t making fun of North Korea or North Koreans, she was making fun of dictatorship in North Korea

— Chip Douglas (@ChipDouglas96) January 12, 2015

If I was Margaret Cho, I would change every password I have. Just sayin’. #GoldenGlobes

— Eric Deggans at NPR (@Deggans) January 12, 2015

Margaret cho is killing it

— David Spade (@DavidSpade) January 12, 2015

How hilarious was @margaretcho on #goldenglobes2015 so proud to say she’s my co host on #AllAboutSexTLC

— HEATHER McDONALD (@HeatherMcDonald) January 12, 2015

Margaret Cho Defends Golden Globes Bit

Cho addressed the negative reactions to her Golden Globes appearance on Twitter with a direct message to North Korea: “I’m of mixed North/South Korean descent – you imprison, starve and brainwash my people you get made fun of by me #hatersgonhate #FreeSpeech.”

I’m of mixed North/South Korean descent – you imprison, starve and brainwash my people you get made fun of by me #hatersgonhate #FreeSpeech

— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) January 12, 2015

I’m not playing the race card. I’m playing the rice card. #hatersgonwait #winnersgonpun

— Margaret Cho (@margaretcho) January 12, 2015