Ron P. Jaffe/Fox © 2013 Fox Television#HowIMetYourRacism? Yikes.
How I Met Your Mother co-creator Carter Bays took to Twitter to address aspects of the Monday, Jan. 13 episode of the long-running CBS comedy. In "Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment in Slapmara," Marshall (Jason Segel) explained how he mastered the "Slap of A Million Exploding Suns" by revealing his past with three slap experts played by Cobie Smulders, Josh Radnor and Alyson Hannigan. The three appeared in yellow face.
Viewers took to Twitter and used the term #HowIMetYourRacism to express outrage over the episode.
"I used to watch @HowIMetMother but I now refuse to and hope they apologize for yellowface. #HowIMetYourRacism," @suey_park tweeted.
"@CBS #Yellowface doesn't get you better ratings, it just makes people want to boycott your network #HowIMetYourRacism," @SeouljaboyPark shared.
Bays issued the following statement in a series of tweets on behalf of himself and co-creator Craig Thomas.
"Hey guys, sorry this took so long. @himymcraig and I want to say a few words about #HowIMetYourRacism. With Monday's episode, we set out to make a silly and unabashedly immature homage to Kung Fu movies, a genre we've always loved. But along the way we offended people. We're deeply sorry, and we're grateful to everyone who spoke up to make us aware of it. We try to make a show that's universal, that anyone can watch and enjoy. We fell short of that this week, and feel terrible about it. To everyone we offended, I hope we can regain your friendship, and end this series on a note of goodwill. Thanks. @CarterBays @HimymCraig."
Singer Katy Perry sparked similar outrage for appearing in Geisha dress during a November American Music Awards performance.
How I Met Your Mother is currently wrapping up its ninth and final season. The series departs airwaves on Monday, March 31 with a special one-hour episode.