Advertisement

Sandra Oh Gives Passionate Speech at Stop Asian Hate Protest: ‘I Am Proud to Be Asian’

“Killing Eve” actor Sandra Oh made a surprise appearance at an Oakland, Pa. Stop Asian Hate protest on Saturday, giving a passionate speech and encouraging others to reach out to Asian American communities.

“Thank you to all the organizers for organizing this just to give us an opportunity to be together and to stand together and to feel each other,” Oh said in the speech, which was captured by CBS Pittsburgh. “For many of us in our community, this is the first time we are even able to voice our fear and our anger and I really am so grateful to everyone willing to listen.”

More from Variety

Oh then acknowledged the fear that many Asian Americans are feeling, and encouraged others to provide help in any way they can.

“I’m going to be very brief, but one thing that I know is many of us in our community are very scared, and I understand that. And one way to kind of go through and get through our fear is to reach out to our communities,” Oh said. “I will challenge everyone here, if you see something, will you help me? If you see one of our sisters or brothers in need, will you help us?”

Oh’s remarks were met with resounding applause from those in attendance, and she went on to lead the crowd in a chant, saying: “I am proud to be Asian. I belong here.”

“Many of us don’t get a chance to be able to say that, so I just wanted to give us an opportunity to be able to shout that,” Oh said as she finished her speech.

The rally is in response to the rise in violence against Asian Americans, including a shooting in Atlanta on Tuesday night that killed eight people, six of whom were Asian women. The hate crime has caused other celebrities to speak out as well, including “Riverdale” star Charles Melton, Olivia Munn, Daniel Dae Kim and more.

Watch the full video of Oh’s speech below.

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.