Chrissy Teigen's Twitter activity is making headlines once more. The model, 30, caused a frenzy on Tuesday, September 13, after she posted a controversial tweet about "oriental" salad dressing.
"I really really really really clearly am not a PC type of gal but I'm a little weirded out at the oriental dressing option on my flight," Teigen, who is half Thai, shared with her more than 2 million followers. "Like if you're over 50 you can call me oriental to my face but this is a new menu and I'm not a rug."
Teigen then responded to a commenter who asked if she thinks that the word Oriental is offensive. "Not offensive, really," she replied. "Just weird. Old school. Just say Asian."
Do I think saying "oriental" is inappropriate? Yes. Laughable and ignorant. Am I OFFENDED when I hear it? No.
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) September 13, 2016
The Lip Sync Battle cohost then tried to clarify the remark. "But them saying 'oriental' makes no impact on me. I know that, most of the time, their intention is not to hurt," she added. "For instance, you can call my mother Siamese. Thailand was Siam. But yeah. A little weird now."
but thank you for reminding me why Twitter can be insufferable. I was getting too comfy enjoying it and all.
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) September 13, 2016
Teigen's tweets quickly ignited a debate. Some commenters tweeted back that the term is a slur. "It might not be offensive to her but it's considered offensive to many. It perpetuates cultural ignorance," one person wrote. A second added: "@chrissyteigen sorry, but they are correct. 'oriental' is pejorative/derogatory when its used to describe people from Asia."
Just a heads up that this all began from me preferring my salad dressing not being called "oriental"
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) September 13, 2016
Teigen directly responded to many commenters and continued to defend her position. "It's not a slur, though. It's just a bit of forgivable ignorance," she wrote. "Do I think saying 'oriental' is inappropriate? Yes. Laughable and ignorant. Am I OFFENDED when I hear it? No."
At one point, she cracked: "I really appreciate all the non-Asians telling me what is offensive to Asians, though. Thank you. Writing it all down."
Teigen is no newbie to controversy on the social media platform. She often uses Twitter to slam GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and TV personality Piers Morgan, and previously started a Twitter war between several blender companies.
