Controversy
In 2001, two years before Fox aired its first episode of Banzai, USA Network aired clips of the Channel 4 edition of the show as part of their Banzai Movie Friday. Asian American groups objected to the clips.
When Fox picked up the show, the Media Action Network for Asian-Americans protested outside a presentation of the show in Hollywood. Group co-founder Guy Aoki told BBC News, "It's just all the backward images of Asian-American people. This is like an Asian minstrel show. Can you imagine the black version of Banzai?" . When sponsors were alerted to the content of the show, many dropped their sponsorship, and as a result, Fox canceled Banzai.
The show also caused controversy in 2002 when they attempted to record a sketch during the funeral of Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. The film crew were reportedly trying to measure the speed of the funeral procession with a speed gun to allow viewers to bet on the speed. The police however stopped this before the procession could pass.
Read more about this topic: Banzai (TV series)
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