An Ohio state lawmaker pulled a joke off his personal Instagram account after receiving a call about it from a reporter this week.

State Sen. Jay Hottinger, R-Newark, who’s Instagram handle is SenJayH, posted an image that said: “Mr. and Mrs. Wong have a baby boy. The nurse brings out a WHITE baby boy. The confused father says 'Two Wongs don't make a White' and they named him …Sum Ting Wong.”

Hottinger posted it March 20 to his 593 followers and said he didn’t think much about it until the Cincinnati Enquirer contacted him. The paper reported that Hottinger initially said there wasn’t anything problematic about the joke and that he had not received any complaints.

“It was inappropriate of me to put it up so I took it down and apologized,” said Hottinger on Friday.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper said, “That post was both offensive and un-American. The fact that he shared it shows how deeply out of touch he is.”

Kathy Chen, executive director of Asian American Community Services, told the Enquirer: “That joke is not funny at all. In fact, I thought it was racist and belittled the API (Asian Pacific Islander) communities.”

About the Author

Featured

In this file photo from October 2024, Atlanta Braves outfielder Jorge Soler and teammates react after losing to the San Diego Padres 5-4 in San Diego. The Braves and Soler, who now plays for the Los Angeles Angels, face a lawsuit by a fan injured at a 2021 World Series game at Truist Park in Atlanta. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason.Getz@ajc.com