Lucy Liu clarifies comment that stirred controversy in the Philippines

LIU. Her joke was taken out of context. RUBEN V. NEPALES

LOS ANGELES—A year ago, Lucy Liu’s remarks on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” stirred controversy in the Philippines and among Filipinos living around the world.  When Letterman asked Liu if she enjoyed running indoors or outdoors, she replied, “I run in a machine. It’s easier for me. Also, if I get really dark, I’ll start to look a little Filipino. It wouldn’t match.”

Amid the uproar that followed, the actress issued this statement to us:  “I’m so sorry that my comment was taken out of context, as I would never insult another group or ethnicity.”

In our recent interview at New York’s The London Hotel with Lucy, who stars with Jonny Lee Miller in “Elementary,” we asked what she learned from that incident. “It’s strange, because people don’t know what your history is like,” she began. “My best friends when I was growing up were Filipinos. They would actually say, ‘Oh my God, you look Filipino,’ when I was dark. They were joking about it. You take that into context in your life. But, when you look at it on a broader perspective, you realize that people don’t know anything about you. They don’t know that you grew up with Filipinos as your best friends.”

The New York native, who plays Dr. Joan Watson to Jonny’s detective Sherlock Holmes in CBS’ modern-day version of the crime-solving duo, added, “So, it becomes more of an awareness of the fact that there’s a personal aspect of your life that the public doesn’t understand. It’s hard to explain things basically in two sentences. So, it’s just awareness that, if people don’t know you, they aren’t going to understand your sense of humor.

“Being Chinese, I grew up with racism all the time,” Lucy stressed. “So, it’s a sensitivity factor.

“I have Filipino friends I treat like my grandparents. We would spend our Christmases with them. People don’t know that that’s my history, and we joke around.”

Second season

As to what “Elementary” viewers can expect in the second season, Lucy answered, “What you’re going to see in this season is more of a partnership between Sherlock and Watson because, last year, we took such a long time to establish their relationship as sober companions who slowly become partners. They want to emphasize the partnership, so they do bring in Watson a lot, like she takes over some cases on her own this season. In the first season, she was sort of watching and observing. She still is, but she’s going to be a lot more involved.”

Asked if it’s simply elementary that Sherlock and Watson will go beyond their investigative work and be romantically involved, Lucy smiled and said, “I can plant a little seed—in Episode Seven, you’re going to find out something that’s going to surprise you.”

Lucy continued, “Watson doesn’t like to be pushed by Sherlock. He’s convinced that they’re going to end up sleeping together. That is something they planted to irritate him a little more and add an extra layer of comedy to their dynamic.”

“I do have exciting news,” she shared. “I will be directing an episode this season. That’s something I’m very excited about!”

Lucy, who made her feature-film directorial debut with “Half the Sky,” said, “Directing will take up a lot of my time. I will probably be acting in it at the same time, so it’s going to be interesting.”

On being a Unicef ambassador, Lucy said, “I have been involved with the group for almost 10 years. I started in 2004, and I knew that I wanted to work with children on a global level. We’ve traveled to many different places in the world, and we understand the dynamic of what children need in those countries. Sometimes, it’s as simple as water!”

E-mail  [email protected]. Follow him at twitter.com/nepalesruben.