WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden called for a “fair deal” for striking Hollywood writers Monday as he hosted a White House screening of the upcoming broadcast series “American Born Chinese” to mark Asian American Heritage Month. , Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
Biden made his first public comments on the strike, which hits the one-week mark Tuesday, ahead of the pilot’s screening. He was joined by an overflow crowd of hundreds of community leaders, elected officials, and members of the show’s cast and producers in the East Room and State Dining Room.
“Nights like these are a reminder of the stories and the importance of treating storytellers with the dignity, respect and value they deserve,” Biden said. «I sincerely hope that the Hollywood writers’ strike is resolved and that writers get the fair treatment they deserve as soon as possible.»
He added: “This is an iconic and significant American industry. And we need the writers and all the workers and everyone involved to tell the stories of our nation and the stories of all of us.»
“American Born Chinese” is adapted from a graphic novel of the same name by Gene Luen Yang, and stars Oscar winners Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. It will premiere on Disney+ on May 24.
Biden used his brief onstage remarks to outline his administration’s efforts to highlight the accomplishments of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities and to speak out against bias and violence against them.
“Hate cannot have a safe harbor in the United States,” Biden said. «Silence is complicity and we will not shut up»
Quan, who introduced Biden, reflected on his journey from arriving in the US as an 8-year-old Vietnamese refugee to his first visit to the White House months after winning an Oscar.
“I don’t take this moment lightly, because I know that this building is a monument to a country that opened its arms to me,” he said.