Ree Drummond, 48, is the star and chef of Pioneer Woman, a cooking show known for “downhome” recipes. Now the mother of four is under fire for making a joke at the expense of Asian food, which was in very poor taste. In a recent episode, Ree pulls a fresh batch of spicy Asian hot wings out of the oven and they look flat-out delicious. Everything seems to be going well until the group of four grown men and two small children are immediately disgusted by the dish.
“What is that?” asks one man, while another one exclaims, “No!” Ree innocently asks them what they mean, while the men keep asking for the “real wings.” One even goes on to say, “I don’t trust ’em.” Who knew it was possible to have trust issues with a plate of chicken wings, right? But, here’s where things get even stickier.
Hey @FoodNetwork – this anti-Asian sentiment being promoted on @thepioneerwoman's show really isn't cool. pic.twitter.com/dM1cbXcHKc
— Thick Dumpling Skin (@dumplingskin) March 6, 2017
“I’m just kidding guys, I wouldn’t do that to you!” Ree exclaims as she turns back to the oven and pulls out another plate of wings — the American kind. Um, what? Did that just happen? Sadly it did, and now viewers are fuming over the fact that The Food Network let the episode and the offensive moment air.
@FoodNetwork has to cancel the pioneer woman. Show is awful. They sure love racist women, and I'd be happy to have Asian hot wings.
— Leonard (@Lenco20) March 10, 2017
@TheFoodNetworks your Asian wing episode is appalling. The Pioneer Woman should just read The Racist Foodie. I am done with your network.
— Marty Bhatia (@aDigitalNinja) March 9, 2017
Food Network has a lot of "down home" cooks because they know they can lose one at any time to one of them doing something racist.
— Kathleen O'Pumpkin-Stuffed-with-Cheese (@OMaraRules) March 10, 2017
So far there has been no word from the Pioneer Woman herself or The Food Network. We also don’t have an update on the delicious batch of spicy Asian hot wings, which many of us would have loved to chow down on with zero regrets.
Tell us, HollywoodLifers — What do YOU think about this outrageous moment on Pioneer Woman? Comment below.