Sandra Oh is speaking out against Asian hatred.
The “Killing Eve” star made a surprise appearance on Saturday at a “Stop Asian Hate” demonstration in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, where she spoke briefly to the protesters.
“Hi, my name is Sandra Oh,” she said to the crowd’s applause. “Pittsburgh, I am very happy and proud to be here with you and I thank all the organizers for organizing this just to give us the opportunity to be together and be together and feel each other. For many of us in our community, this is the first time that we have been able to express our fear and anger and I really am very grateful for everyone willing to listen. “
The demonstration follows a wave of anti-Asian violence, which includes shootings in spas in Atlanta on Tuesday that killed eight people, including six Asian women.
Among those who extended Oh’s appearance in Pittsburgh on social media was Ellen Pompeo, her longtime co-star on “Grey’s Anatomy”. Other celebrities who responded publicly to the Atlanta shooting include Gemma Chan, Margaret Cho, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Shonda Rhimes, Daniel Dae Kim and George Takei. Political figures from Barack Obama to Sen. Tammy Duckworth also posted on social media condemning the attacks.
“One thing I know [is] many of us in our community are very scared, ”said Oh.“ And I understand that one way to overcome our fear is to reach out to our community. I will challenge everyone here, if you see something, will you help me? If you see one of our brothers and sisters in need, will you help us? As Asian Americans, we just need to reach out to our brothers and sisters and say, ‘Help me and I’m here.’ “
Oh concluded his comments by causing the crowd to shout, “I am proud to be Asian! I belong here! “” Many of us don’t have a chance to say that, so I just wanted to give us the opportunity to be able to shout it, thank you very much, “she said.