Co-host of ‘The Real’ & ‘Holey Moley’ Jeannie Mai Jenkins has found herself making more friends in the Asian community amid the ‘Stop Asian Hate’ movement.
Jeannie Mai Jenkins, 42, has always used her social media platform and voice for speaking positively — including amid the Stop Asian Hate movement. With the increased violence against her own Asian community happening, she reveals she’s found a silver lining by connecting with a new social circle. “I will say that 2021 is the first year that I’ve made so many Asian friends,” Jeannie told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY during an episode of TVTalk on Instagram Live on June 11 as she chatted about her Owl’s Brew Boozy Tea beverages. “I always had my friends, but now, I’m actually connecting with other people in the community,” she added.
There has been an increase of hate crimes targeted towards the Asian community amid the COVID-19 pandemic which many are standing up against. Between the Black Lives Matter movement and the Stop AAPI movement, President Joe Biden stepped in to pass legislation that aims to make the reporting of hate crimes easier to do at both local and state levels.
Hate has no place in America – and I look forward to making that clear this afternoon by signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law.
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 20, 2021
From fashion power houses to hard hitting journalists and more, the list of Jeannie’s new found friends is more than impressive. “Lisa Ling is an amazing outspoken advocate for Asian-American rights,” the co-host of The Real and Holey Moley added. “Daniel Day Kim is just a beast when it comes to being a leader and someone who advocates for change. Prabul Gurung, the fashion designer. These are people that are now my friends because of stop Asian hate,” she said to HL.
Jeannie is quite thankful for those who are trying to fight for justice against these awful crimes and wants people to learn and figure out ways to help. “As much as I am thankful for the community, it’s a lesson to everybody, everybody out there,” Jeannie said. “How are you standing in solidarity with these minority groups?” she asked the audience.
The most important part is using your voice for good, something the Hello Hunnay with Jeannie Mai Jenkins YouTube series creator always tries to do. “So today, when we’re seeing a crazy rise in Asian crime, we are learning to use our voice,” Jeannie said. “To speak up and more importantly, not only speak up for ourselves, but to speak up for other minority groups that are overlooked and are underserved, so that to me is the greatest lesson,” she explained.