VH1's TV's Illest Minority Moments, Presented By ego trip, premieres Feb 22

[Pavan]

VH1 BREAKS DOWN TELEVISION'S COLOR LINES WITH AN AMUSING LOOK AT RACE RELATIONS IN "TV'S ILLEST MINORITY MOMENTS,

PRESENTED BY EGO TRIP" ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22

Santa Monica, CA, February 10, 2004 - Minorities on television may have come a long way since the days of Buckwheat and Amos 'n' Andy, but when it comes to the small screen, stereotypes never seem to go out of style. For example, have you ever noticed....



· How African American reality show contestants always have an attitude, are always running into some kind of drama, and often are first to be voted off the show?



· How Latino actors only seem to get a starring role on a sitcom every 20 years?



· How Asian guys are always martial arts experts capable of kicking major butt, yet never seem to score a hot chick? (And Hot Asian chicks always seem to end up with the white guys.)



· How every white crime-fighter seems to have a cool ethnic sidekick - who's always forced to do the dirty work?



VH1 noticed. So, we decided to ask comedians, rappers, actors and writers for their opinion on ethnic stereotypes on television. The result? "TV's Illest Minority Moments Presented by ego trip," a VH1 special that takes a look at some of the most compelling, controversial and unintentionally hilarious race-related moments in television history. "TV's Illest Minority Moments, Presented By ego trip" premieres on VH1 Sunday, February 22 at 10:00 pm*.



Adapted from ego trip's Big Book of Racism, the special covers the gamut of television in its examination of racial storylines and ethnic characters found on sitcoms, dramas, cartoons and reality shows. The unforgettable racial TV moments range from Danny Partridge becoming an honorary member of an "Afro-American club," Marlo Thomas portraying a Asian girl on an episode of "Bonanza" to discovering the true ethnicity of Wonder Woman (Lynda Carter) and Casey Kasem. The special also celebrates the daring shows and break-out characters that altered the television landscape from Wrestling's Iron Sheik and Arsenio Hall to Cowboy Curtis.



Big Boi and Andre 3000 of Outkast, Kelis , Talib Kweli, actor Anthony Anderson, cartoonist Aaron McGruder (The Boondocks), writers Angela Nissel (Broke Diaries, "Scrubs"), Judy McCreary, Jeff Yang (Once Upon a Time in China) director John Singleton ("Boyz In The Hood" "Baby Boy") and comic Joey Medina ("Latin Kings of Comedy") are just a few who commented for the show: "I often think about what shows would be like on television if black people were running the networks? 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' would be 'Who Wants To Move Out of The Projects" -- Anthony Anderson, actor



"The unspoken agreement is that we'll let you into the family, if you act like children and do what we say." Aaron McGruder, cartoonist ("Boondocks") commenting on "Different Strokes"



"Bruce Lee not only got to kick ass but shows [like 'The Green Hornet'] showed you could depend on an Asian to drive" -- Steve Byrne, comedian



"Latino stars come around like fashion trends...when bell bottoms come back, Latinos come back" - Jazmin Lewis "Barber Shop"



Written by Sacha Jenkins, Elliott Wilson, Chairman Mao, Gabriel Alvarez and Brent Rollins of ego trip, "TV's Illest Minority Moments Presented by ego trip" is executive produced by Michael Hirschorn and Jim Ackerman. Joey Anuff is senior producer; Darin Byrne is producer.