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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Lifestyle
Louis Chilton

Olivia Munn condemns ‘cowardly and unconscionable’ hate crime after virtual event targeted by racist trolls

Getty Images for Global Citizen

Olivia Munn has spoken out after a virtual meeting of Asian-American creators was subject to a “cowardly and unconscionable” barrage of racist images.

The meeting, which involved Munn and a number of other high-profile Asian-American industry creators, fell victim to “Zoom-bombing” – a term used to describe an unwanted intrusion of outsiders into a group video chat.

On Instagram, the Newsroom star condemned the perpetrators.

“Today while hosting a gathering of AAPI [Asian-American and Pacific Islanders] women and allies in a conversation about how to stop anti-Asian hate, we were targeted by a Zoom bombing of horrific, violent, racially charged images and audio,” wrote Munn.

“We were communing to celebrate, elevate and protect the AAPI community and we were subjected to a hate crime in real time,” she continued. “It was a cowardly and unconscionable act.”

In its own statement shared to social media, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum wrote that the incident had been reported to the FBI.

“Today, while hosting a gathering of AAPI women in a conversation about how to stop anti-Asian hate, we were targeted by a zoom bombing of horrific violence and vulgar, racially-charged content with the intent to invoke fear in our community,” wrote the organisation on Monday (24 January).

“Together, we were made victims of hate as we were having a real-time conversation about fighting against racism.

“We started our event with beautifully-spirited and powerful members of the AAPI community talking about our experiences and using our voices, and we will continue,” they added. “The conversation WILL go on.”

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