Paul Merton in China calling Chinese lady a "prostitute"

[eplayersus]

i love china hookers :D

[manjeet1278]

its anti chinese propoganda. Didn't tht gal see camera crew? If same happens in eng,then he wud also says lyk tht?

[tshahbmttexas]

Merton is an imbecile

[truthpig]

Paul's reaction here is one of suprise and humour, he only asks IF she's a prostitute, and then laughs at the absurdity of the encounter..... I see no hatred at all.

[tomkido1604]

I think this video is actually anti-Chinese propaganda meant to make Chinese people seem humourless, overly sensitive and stupid.

[tjc1312]

I am guessing that you are a woman, mediaslammer.  If you were a man, then you would know that a foreign man can't walk down a street in China several times without being propositioned by a prostitute - I think she was one, 5 years of living in China told me that. I think your name betrays the fact that you seem to have some weird vendetta against the media.

[XpresloX]

Il rit comme un porc

[fritspas]

who is that rude french bloke interrupting all the time

[dharmaseed]

@fritspas Must be a translator.

[ikadir18]

He just thought she's a prostitute thats all because of what she said when probably she wasn't. He's not trying to insult chinese people!

[LUESoldat]

It is a cliche for prostitutes to ask navy men to have sex with them for money, Hence the sailor boy.

Educate yourself on old time cliches, video poster.

[tintintabulations]

WHY DOES PAUL MERTON WANT TO DESTROY THE CHINA CULTURE?

[c0unterph0bia]

If you get offended by ridiculously harmless jokes, then please get off the internet, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into. BTW, did this guy get the job you wanted or something? Did he marry the girl you wanted? What gives> It seems like you have it out for him...

[eburnsdaniel]

The girl at 30 seconds says 'Hello Sailor' which is widely associated with prostitutes and camp culture. He's not just going round randomly slagging people.

[AzNSammanX26]

this asshole

[BstrangerUK]

This was a joke on a light hearted comedy programme, he would have said the same thing regardless of what country he was in as "Hello sailor boy" is the kind of thing a prostitute would say. Also, the sentence: "the producer shows his despise for China and its people" makes no sense. Have you had your mental health checked recently? I'm being serious

[moonphoenix1]

White people are all rapist, pedophiles, murders, and whores. Oh wait, I was just joking! Maybe.

[badarbiter]

@moonphoenix1 We were about 400 years ago, yes, all those put together.

[moonphoenix1]

And one more thing. Only White people think it's funny to make racially insensitive jokes about others.

[badarbiter]

@moonphoenix1 Yes...because saying "You a sailor?" which he wasn't even dressed like and Striking a pose, that usually means shes a prostitue.

Or she is deliberatly making making fun of him by doing a sterotypical phrase that usual means one is a prostitue then making a camera-esque gesture like what one would think a tourist would do. Because he is a white man in china she thinks hes a sterotypical tourist.

[fomiz]

@moonphoenix1

what about the mixed people.

or the non-white people that grew up in western countries.

ur argument is flawed!

FAILED!

[moonphoenix1]

@psvwoodshoven

Actually, it's more like that your mother, sister, wife, grandmother, etc. are prostitutes.

[moonphoenix1]

@psvwoodshoven

Also, this is how Westerners view Asian women unfortunately. I'm an Asian American woman, and traveling in Asian alone as an Asian woman, most Westerners treated me with suspicion as if I were a prostitute. Believe me, there are plenty of "Western" prostitutes in the United States also, but Western women aren't treated as if they all are prostitutes. I'm sick and tired or both racism and sexism. Long Live China!

[badarbiter]

@moonphoenix1 Your kidding? If a woman in America shows any type of skin or flirts a bit she is labeled a whore.

[moonphoenix1]

@psvwoodshoven

STFU as--hole. Asian people talk to Westerners because they are friendly, and mostly because they want to practice their English. Trust me, I'm Asian American and while traveling in Asia, Asian locals love starting conversations with me as soon as they find out I'm a "foreigner" who speaks English.

[liamuk08]

Anyone who thinks that Paul is being mean is an idiot,

A Women asking if a man is a Sailor is a cliche'd proposition. It's like a Women asking if you "wanna party" in the middle of a street.

She probably wasn't a prostitute but if a man asked him "if he's looking for fun" he would probably have made a joke about the man being a drug dealer.

It has nothing to do with China people.

[shrapn0]

winge winge winge about a western person calling a lady a prostitute. i'm far more disgusted at China's human rights record.

[psymonb]

I sent the link to friends, relatives and the producers of the show. They all agree you're a cunt.

[shadeylane]

Wow, this is offensive? Didn't you go to public school? This is nothing.

[MagikGimp]

Whoever makes these videos sure is sensitive. Sure make a site about bridging the gaps in our world but just exploding with rage at every slightest mention of a potential insult is crazy. This case is quite clearly not an insult. Paul asks his film crew if they also thought she was a prostitute. The woman got his attention in a very stereotypically hooker way, he mentions it because how could you not with such a clique. It's also a funny thing & he is a comedian. Get some proper evidence already

[thearcitect]

your an extremist idiot if you think a harmless joke means Paul Merton despises china and its people (ott).if you want people to get on stop creating issues over a harmless comment and get on with your life if you have one!!.

[dali6105]

not enough nudity in these 'paul merton in china' clips.

[cake70]

Well done paul merton, i love you.

[Mysterious0Bob]

HOW DARE HE MAKE JOKES.

Holy shit, if you take offense at this, never, ever watch South Park, or your head might explode.

[archbaker]

I think you might understand the clip wrongly., Mediaslammer.

'Hello sailor' is the sort of thing western prostitutes typically say, or are portrayed as saying in popular media, and that was probably the reason Mr Merton made that joke.

[bringmemybow]

What??? there is NOTHING wrong with this. Only someone brainwashed for china would take this as offensive. It is just paul being paul. grow up, china needs more freedom in humour and media.

[thewisefool]

Yeah, I know it's been said around 46 times before judging from the comment counter but he's a comedian. Do a bit of research before slandering someone. I mean you're trying to set up some form of hate group against a guy on the basis of one joke and then say that the Western Media is misrepresenting China... you do realise how insane that is right?

[greasethebicep76]

are you for real? get over it

[cakeisamadeupdrug]

Oh dear, it seems we have a nutjob in our midst :/

I think he is the only member of the Paul Merton Must Die society...

"I know enough about China to know that this is not what she is; this has been confirmed by many Chinese I know."

LOL a country with over a billion citizens, and this guy knows every bloody prostitute in it!

(oops sorry, every NON-prostitute)

:p

Paul 1 - MertonSlammer 0

[favsncrap]

incase you didnt notice he is a commedian.. he is not mocking chinese people hes joking around with no offence intented... he jokes about all things including his own country..

[memetoo1]

Oh right he is doing this for a pay check.

[TemperatureIndicator]

i would be all for saying western media is making china look crap BUT...yew cant do it with paul merton ^_^

paul merton is a legend...never say anything about him bad coz he is brilliant...best comedian ever!

oh and paul merton in india is starting today at 9pm...dont forget coz yew know its gonna be spiffy :3

x

[mediaslammer]

What do you know about what a prostitute looks like in China? Do you think that you know everything about prostitutes in the whole world?

[gokiburi666]

@mediaslammer she does indeed look like a prostitute.. and the guy standing near her with his arms folded looks like her "handler". I see nothing racist about the video

[SRSLover]

u merciless assholes. u do eat dogs. he's an innocent civilian goddamn it. chinese people even eat donkey penis's born of the dragon homosexual race

[tehmode]

It was obviously a joke.

[heituzi]

Scarcely 10% of Chinese women under 50 are decent enough to wear loose-fitting clothes, much less long skirts.

[R0SECR0IX]

Of course in Europe we do have the luxury of complaining about programmes that we find offensive...whereas in your beloved China....

[XxEnglishlassxX]

He is a good person. Leave him be, he's done nothing wrong. Great documentary and can't wait for the India one!!

[Timmertube75]

You're not aka Caroline Quentin are you Mediaslammer?

[myrmecophaga2]

"It's such a chiche"

Precisely it. When two cultures meet there is going to be certain things like this. Either she knew the cliche, in which case it is tit-for-tat, since she suggests something about him, or she didn't, in which case he is just noticing and remarking on the chance clash. And there cannot be anything wrong with that.

If he was asked the samething elsewhere, his reaction would still be the same. And you cannot complain about somebody's laugh, watch HIGNFY and you will see..

[imangrynow]

Yer amazing how some people can stress over nothing isn't it?!

[Albran]

Seems like it's just a joke? And your description seems misleading, he was making a joke about one person and not laying into an entire race/country.

[imangrynow]

And why don't you lighten up?! I ask again why would she ask him if he's a sailor? Its just a gag he tells! Treating people of a different ethnicity as if they are too stupid to take a joke is racist Paul treats everyone as though they have a sense of humour and are intelligent thats the opposite of racism he made a great documentary and he was robbed at the baftas!

[hools258]

there is nothing wrong with what Paul has done here. He is a very respectable man and worthy of our praise. there is nothing here to tarnish his name whatsoever!

[mediaslammer]

I don't doubt that when he talks about Great Britain or Europe, he is a respectable man. The problems start when he talks about a country he knows nothing about, forgetting all the ethical rules which he respects when talking about European countries. Why don't you ask a few Chinese whether he does something wrong in his documentary?

[gooseywoosey1wx]

mr, I think you need to get out of the house and get a job. a little advice.

and get off youtube!

you'll thank me in the long run.

[themightysian]

So all the people who think you are an arsehole are now disrespecting your country?

[fomiz]

@mediaslammer chinese men, human traffick chinese women to europe and america for sex, and also bootleg DVDs, where is the respect there?

[GiantSandles]

>Why don't you ask a few Chinese whether he does something wrong in his documentary?

Why a few Chinese, it's not like any individual is given room to think freely on the matter of Chinese society anyway.

[tomkido1604]

@mediaslammer he was joking based on the fact she called him sailor boy. You say Paul misunderstands Chinese culture but you are clearly guilty of the same thing towards Western culture. It was a joke. If he did insult anyone it was not deliberate. How about an example of a deliberate insult for contrast. YOU ARE AN IDIOT!

[imangrynow]

No but hes just cracking a joke theres nothing wrong with that i actually think she may be having a joke too its nothing to stress over certainly no reason to sue!

[caihong86]

I think this woman just want to be friendly. Is is wrong?

[imangrynow]

Well i haven't seen a European woman or any other race of woman ask a guy on a documentary if hes a sailor before!

This seems like a vendetta and hes done nothing wrong, i saw the whole doc and he didn't say a word out of line he was just witty!

Have you had much support cos to me wanting to get him sued seems nuts?!

[mediaslammer]

You seem to know nothing about what it means not to speak a language well. It's not the only time Paul Merton does not realize the problems caused by bad mastery of English. I am all the time in contact with people who speak a foreign language, and quite often I am the one who speaks a foreign language. I also said a lot of stupid things when speaking Chinese. Fortunately the Chinese would not draw wrong conclusions when this happened.

[imangrynow]

Er how can you mistake calling a guy a sailor are you telling me that the word sailor sounds uncannily like the Chinese term "documentary film maker"?!

You haven't answered my questions about support or if you truely believe he should be sued or given a good reason why hes so much worse than other people who've made documentaries but i guess its hard to make that case when hes done nothing wrong and just been witty!

[imangrynow]

But with the greatest respect a comedian doing a lighthearted documentary seems an odd target for this hate fuelled charity perhaps you could choose a target that has actually been offensive? What made you start with Paul Merton?

[mediaslammer]

There are many documentaries which just say a lot of nonsense about China. I don't like those documentaries, they are even a big problem to be. But Paul Merton not only says things which are just not true about China, he insults ordinary Chinese people. That's what made me so angry when I saw this, and that's why I start with him. Again: just tell me one documentary about a European country where a person is called a "prostitute" in such circumstances!

[mediaslammer]

Why does nobody here take into consideration the feelings of the Chinese who see this? It's not just about this scene, it's about the whole documentary. Why can't you understand that all this is not only about how British people understand what Paul Merton says?

[imangrynow]

And why can't you understand that Chinese people will be able to tell from the way that its said that its a joke you're being really OTT and he's done nothing but make a really funny and interesting program!

[imangrynow]

Yeah i think hes very honest here hes a really talented versatile guy!

[imangrynow]

Exactly it was just a joke!

I don't think he even neccessarily DID jump to conclusions, just a gag!

[Moll1982]

That's what I meant; when someone says something like that to you, how can you not reply, just like a penalty with the goalkeeper missing!

I think there are much better examples for badly researched media coverage against China, but I think it's unfair to pick out one documentary just because you didn't understand the humour...

[mediaslammer]

Do you know how much time it takes to document just three short excerpts from one documentary? Choosing the excerpts, having the translations done, putting the subtitles, I am not paid for this! Of course I will do this work for other documentaries too. There are some I have to order from overseas because I could not record them when I saw them, others which were broadcast only in one single country. You just have to take one step after another.

[Moll1982]

To defend Paul: The line "Hello Sailor" is actually a very common indicator for a "lady of easy virtue", at least in british culture and comedy, especially when said in a cheeky way. Obviously that girl didn't know that, and Paul jumped to conclusions. I believe she really WAS trying to be nice, but that doesn't justify this crusade that you're trying to lead against this documentary. I think a lot of people would have loved to go to China after watching it. Paul isn't the baddie!

[ningbois]

You called that "respect", imangrynow!? By what? Juging people with whatever he thought and a perverted laughter!? Please stop that!A sailor may be interpreted as a sign of prostitute in your country, but not in mine!Stop juging Chinese with your mentality! People are different,ok!? You should always try to get to know people before you say something.

[imangrynow]

ITS A JOKE! Lighten up!

Saying "are you a sailor?" to a guy you don't know (when sailors WERE known for using prostitutes) giggling fliratiously,then disappearing? I recon she was having a joke at his expense too and neither of them minded each other!

The only people getting upset about this are you lot!

BTW how was it "perverted laughter" he didn't proposition her he actually made out hes not keen on guys who use prostitutes (see HIGNFY).

Why don't YOU research someone before bashing them!

[PackageSeverance]

This guy is over the line; usually hosts can make fun of themselves and others with no problem but they should not intentionally show disrespect

I have seen other documentaries that use cultural misunderstandings as comedy WITHOUT having this level or rudeness

[razvaz]

The woman won't care that he called her a prostitute, just people who spend too much time watching tv and using the internet.

[razvaz]

It was Paul Merton's mistake, she didn't look like a prostitute to me.

Chinese internet users have nothing to worry about since people like me are what they are afraid will get a misconception.

[paulinedoptus]

Why did she say hello sailor like that then?  You seem to be a deliberate trouble maker

[mediaslammer]

I have met many extrovert and communicative young ladies in China, and I know that they were no prostitutes. If they can be like that without getting in trouble in China, this just shows that China is not the kind of macho culture the Western media want to make us believe.

If she said hello the way she did, this is no reason to call her a prostitute and broadcast this on dozens of TV channels.

[imlan123]

He was being sarcastic -.-

[diuleeseafood]

white niggers look like a colorful garbage bin

[razvaz]

It's not that people think its normal, its that china is so far away and isn't relevent enough to question it like people would in germany or france.

[mediaslammer]

China is just a fraction of a second by Internet from Europe, and in China they watch youtube too. At least media professionals like Paul Merton should be able to realize this. In 2009, China will have more Internet users than any other country in the world!

[razvaz]

Paul Merton is a comic, not a professional documentry maker and this was his first travel documentry.

He thinks a lot about ideas for jokes.

What does Paul Merton mean to you, mediaslammer?

[mediaslammer]

hi razvaz,

all this is not about Paul Merton, it is about the way all (!) Western media talk about China. Telling the whole world that this girl is a prostitute is unacceptable, even if it's said by a comic. If he said this about a German or French girl, he would get problems; of course he would never say this. But when he says it about China, everybody thinks that this is normal.

The western media try to deny the Chinese any human qualities, and this is untrue and unhelpful.

[imangrynow]

Paul Merton is actually quite PC and deeply anti racist he's just an amusing comedian you guys think too deeply into this stuff!

He made an ace documentary and is in my opinion one of the most talented comedians knocking around, she did ask if he was a sailor (and he hardly looks like one!) He'd have said the same about her if she was Western he's acually a very moral guy and wasn't being offensive, you're being paroniod!

[mediaslammer]

What would you say if Paul Merton said this about your sister or girl-friend? I don't say that he is a racist, but I'm not aware of one example where a reporter travels through a European city and says this kind of things. I do know that these kinds of things do hurt many Chinese people, I talked with many Chinese about this, and it hurts them precisely because they know that Paul Merton would never say something like this about European girls.

[imangrynow]

That's rubbish you clearly haven't seen his comedy he would say this about ANY person if he felt a comic oppertunity presented itself he's a great comedian!

She did ask if he was a sailor and that led easily into a rather well executed joke!

O and as a heterosexual woman i don't have a girlfriend and if he said that about me in that jovial way i'd laugh and ask for his autograph.

What do you have against Paul Merton? He only pointedly attacks the decadent/pompous!

[mediaslammer]

Sorry for the "girl-friend"! It's really easy to say something stupid... About Paul Merton: I became aware that he is a comedian when I looked for some information about him on Internet. I like watching comedy, but when watching his documentary (?) about China, I would not even have imagined that he could be a comedian! Just try to imagine what Chinese people feel when they watch this.They just feel that he considers them all to be "decadent/pompous"!

[imangrynow]

O come on!

He is totally balanced and honest, genuinely moved in some places and slipping in the odd gag in others as he is a comedian and a very witty one to i'm suprised you couldn't tell! Try researching him and look at some of his stuff you never know you might like him he's also a genuinely nice guy as well as talented.

I found the documentary funny and informative, China doesn't look perfect but it does look a lively and interesting place. I imagine that was the intention.

[mediaslammer]

He is not moved at any moment by something Chinese! Only in the Tibetan monastery is he moved, and he says so. I have often been moved by what I saw in China, the Chinese are absolutely not like depicted in his film. Sorry, but if you knew more about China, you could not say that he is "balanced" in they way he talks about this country. He only chooses what he can ridicule!

[imangrynow]

Totally untrue!

He is very interested in ancient culture Chinese Christianity etc and in the Buddist faith.

I say he's balanced because he took a wide tour and gave his own honest opinion you can't ask more than that! I love Paul so funny and smart anyone who thinks hes offensive should really lighten up!

[mediaslammer]

Like many people, he thinks that he understands China because he is interested in Buddhism, its ancient culture etc. But all I ask for is a little respect for the Chinese who live right now. What would you think about some people who come here and criticize everything because we don't live any more like in the Middle Ages? If he were the only one, that would be OK, but it's systematic!

[imangrynow]

He shows respect for everyone he meets equal to the respect he'd show anyone & is interested in the culture but reserves his right not to like all of it good on him if someone from China didn't like Shakespeare or English history i wouldn't complain and nor would Paul Merton, i'm sure.

Lots of people in the uk and abroad (eg usa) bemoan the loss of English countryside to urbanisation i don't complain they're entitled to their opinion as is Paul Merton!

Leave him be the guys very talented!

[imlan123]

If anyone should take offense, it is the woman he said it about. How in any way is he saying anything about China? He's just saying what she said sounded like something a prostitute would say.