‘I Had To Watch That Happen’

Jo Koy has opened up about the tough experiences his mother had to endure as an Asian immigrant in the U.S.

“My mom came here in the late ’60s — immigrant mom with no identity, trying to find somebody that looks like her, goes to the TV and what does she see? You just see a really s—y depiction of what an Asian is,” Koy, 51, said on his show “Rise for Comedy” on Tuesday.

The half-Filipino and half-white comedian continued, “My mom would go to church every Sunday, and church was about the one time where she felt like she had an identity.”

While his mom felt comfortable being at the church, making friends was a different story.

“There was no Facebook, there was no Instagram. There was no TikTok where she can build a community,” Koy explained. “She couldn’t go to Google and search ‘Filipino community’ like these kids can do today. My mom had to physically find her friends. And as funny as that s— sounds, just imagine being in her shoes.”

The actor and podcast host also shared one unforgettable incident he witnessed as a young boy.

He recalled filling out raffle tickets and winning a TV at Sears. On their way to claim their prize, Koy noticed a young boy’s reaction toward his mom, which opened his eyes to the painful truth of racism.

“We won the TV and then we went up the escalator, it’s like 1985, and my mom loves little kids. My mom sees this little kid and she’s like, ‘Hi, what’s your name?’ The kid turns around and pulls his eyes back and giggles. I didn’t know, the giggle was because … I didn’t understand that type of normalization. Why would that be funny?”

Koy explained that his mother had to endure the ridicule because it was how Asians were portrayed on TV back then.

“She goes, ‘It’s OK, Joseph. He’s just trying to be funny, that’s all.’ But the pain that’s inside, she doesn’t want to show me that she’s hurt. I had to watch that happen,” Koy said.

Asians continue to endure unfair treatment in the U.S., according to a 2020 report from the United Nations, which detailed an “alarming level” of racially motivated violence and other hate incidents against Asian Americans.

On the work front, Koy will star in the upcoming movie “Easter Sunday,” which follows the story of a family gathering on Easter Sunday. The movie will hit the theaters on Aug. 5.

Photo: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic