‘The Office’ actress Kat Ahn slams the show’s anti-Asian jokes: ‘You’re told to shut up and be grateful’

• Kat Ahn guest-starred on the holiday episode of "The Office" titled "A Benihana Christmas."
• In the episode, Michael Scott marks an Asian waitress with a sharpie so he can identify her.
• "You're told to shut up and be grateful," Ahn said of the Asian American experience in Hollywood.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

Korean-American actress Kat Ahn, who guest-starred in the popular holiday episode of "The Office" titled "A Benihana Christmas," has told The Washington Post how the show's racist depiction of Asian people affected her personal life.

During the episode in question, Steve Carell's Michael Scott invites two Asian waitresses who work at a local restaurant, which he calls "Asian Hooters," back to the Dunder Mifflin office for a holiday party where he subsequently marks one of the waitresses' arms with a sharpie so that he is able to tell them apart.

Ahn, who said her excitement at being cast on the NBC comedy waned when she realized she was "just there to be the joke," also said the episode led to a real-life co-worker of hers trying to mark her with a pen in reference to the episode.

"You're told to shut up and be grateful," Ahn said of the experience Asian American actors face in the industry. "Actors have no power until they become a star."

This isn't the first time Ahn has spoken out about this specific episode of "The Office." Earlier this year, she posted a TikTok, which subsequently went viral, where she spoke about her experience being involved with the show and its depiction of Asian women, which she described as "problematic."

She said: "The storyline with myself and the other Asian American actress is that we were the 'uglier' version of the actresses at the Benihana," she said. "Also that all Asian people look alike, we're one big monolith, and we're just one big, walking stereotype without any personality or individuality. "

In a follow-up video, Ahn discussed her decision to take the role in the episode saying: "Look, I took the role because it was a role."

She continued: "What I realized is that you can't expect people to create roles for you if they don't know your experience, and that's why it's important for you to create your own content and have your own voice."

Last year, "The Office" stars Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey, who played Pam and Angela on the show, also discussed "Benihana Christmas" during an episode of their podcast "Office Ladies," where they rewatch episodes of the comedy. They both said the holiday episode now makes them "cringe."

"I just don't think this storyline would have been written today," Kinsey said, to which Fischer agreed.