Being a black man in NYC, it's hard to not feel a sort of second-hand awkwardness and embarrassment sometimes with his videos, but that's because it's not my culture and we in the west have been conditioned to try not to play up stereotypes (even if they are based in truth).
But I find his videos (specifically his reaction videos) to be hilarious. The accent at this point has melted away, and I'm actually laughing at what he is saying, not how he is saying it. I don't imitate it, as I'm not a child. And while there are a few Asian culture things that he brings up that I knew (having a Chinese friend growing up and hanging out at his place all the time), I do like some of the insights he occasionally has on his videos.
I've listened to some of his podcast "Rice to Meet You" that he co-hosts with an Asian woman. So I see some of his perspective beyond the videos themselves. Learning how and where he grew up, and also seeing how he interacts with the Asian community where he is (which is decidedly not in America) I feel it's really not my place to tell him that he shouldn't do this character. This is obviously based on his upbringing, and I do see LOTS of Asians (especially those actually living on the continent) loving and sharing his videos as they're in on the joke and recognize the roots of the character. Will white people imitate him and think the stereotype is real? Perhaps, but he also regularly roasts white people, so I'd like to believe that those white people of good faith would know not to do it in the first place.
This character isn't going to be for everyone. No issue with that. But I do think it comes from a place of respect from his perspective, so I can't hate on him for it. We'll see where it goes, but I kinda agree with those likening it to Chappelle Show. He might find that maintaining playing this character is untenable and drops it after a short while.
