Jesse Appell and friends from Newton North High School pack up medical supplies donated to Wuhan. Photo: Courtesy of Jesse Appell

Jesse Appell Photo: Courtesy of Jesse Appell

A video by US stand-up and improv comedian Jesse Appell went viral on Chinese social media recently, earning more than 10 million views. The video featured a recording of a charity show the comedian performed in Massachusetts during which he showed the audience video clips from popular short video platform TikTok revealing how people in Wuhan have been finding ways to entertain themselves and others while quarantined due to COVID-19.

"I returned to the US during the Spring Festival holiday. Then the novel coronavirus outbreak got bad. I couldn't return to China. I knew I must do something to help, so I came up with the idea of the charity show," Appell told the Global Times.

A different angle

He reached out to his high school Newton North about holding the charity show, which he called Comedy for a Cause, and the school responded with instant support. And to his surprise, they sold nearly 600 tickets and received more than $10,000 in donations from the show. 

"I think most American people don't know much about the people in China. Their perception of the country is mainly focused at the government level," he said. 

He noted that he feels that the strict quarantine measures taken by the Chinese government have been very effective, but probably will end up reinforcing the stereotypes many Americans believe.  

He did notice though, that some talk shows in the US have showed videos of Chinese people finding creative ways to make masks or entertain themselves during the quarantine, which he found to be a positive move as they helped show people the humor and resilience of the Chinese people, which isn't typically portrayed in the US. He said this is also what he hoped to achieve through his charity show. 

"At first there were still some people calling it the 'Wuhan virus.' I want them to learn about Wuhan as a city, where I have friends living, where I have performed… Even when they are faced with a tough situation, they still manage to keep their humorous spirit," he said.

Showing this side of the Chinese people has been a rewarding task for Appell, but it has also been quite a challenge as well.

"Before the performance, I wasn't sure whether a punch line would work. Even if it did, while editing the video, I'd still worry about offending someone like the patients or people in Wuhan… What I've been doing is sending the edited videos to a couple of my Chinese friends, or Chinese-American friends for their advice," he said.

Appel said he wasn't able to relax after posting the video of the charity show until he saw that his accounts on China's Twitter-like Sina Weibo and TikTok were flooded with encouraging comments from Chinese netizens. 

"I watched the video half laughing and half crying" and "Thank you for showing this side of Chinese people and bringing laughter to our life" were some of the more typical comments. 

Clearing up misunderstandings

While Appell said he hopes his work can help create connections across cultures, he also talked about the barriers, especially when his work is taken out of context.

"In the past, not many people knew about me. They just saw a white guy speaking in English, talking about China. If they didn't have the context, or they didn't know that I spent years studying xiangsheng (cross talk, a form of traditional Chinese comedy) and I spent most of my adulthood in China… the videos I made could be criticized," he said.

He recalled that his comment about a Chinese boy band once caused a misunderstanding and their fans swamped his social media with hateful comments telling him to go back to the US.

"But when I heard their voices, it was just like my view toward Jesse Watters from Fox News. They [presenters on Fox News] don't speak for the majority," he said. 

On US TV last week, the news presenter demanded an apology from China due to the COVID-19 outbreak and called Chinese people "who are hungry for raw bats and snakes." The comments were quickly blasted by Chinese netizens. 

Appell has been personally asked for his take on the issue several times. He said that the incident really upset him, not just because the "stupid comments ended up on TV, "but also because the amount of attention it brought. 

"His view doesn't represent the majority of the US. I don't even think he speaks for two Americans. He's probably just speaking for himself…There are many people in the US doing what they can to help the situation of the virus, and their thoughts are with the people. Spending time on this stupid incident is wasting our friendship," Appell said. 


Newspaper headline: Breaking down barriers