A joke by Fox News host Jesse Watters about sexual assault committed by U.S. servicemembers has been condemned by AAPI and other leaders.
During the July 16 broadcast of “The Five,” the co-hosts discussed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s initiative to screen servicemembers for testosterone deficiency.
“Yeah, I want these guys on it, but you know what’s gonna happen?” Watters said. “The guys that don’t need it are gonna take it, to triple boost. And then they’re gonna get out there, and women on base, you guys better be careful.
“Port calls, women in Asia, you better be careful, because these guys are gonna be wild animals and you better watch out.”
Watters laughed as he made these remarks.
Rep. Mark Takano (D-Riverside), ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), said, “Fox News has stayed silent as one of its hosts cracks jokes about sexual violence committed by military servicemembers against Asian women, female servicemembers, and women on military bases.
“Sexual violence demands serious attention and preventive action, not jokes on national television. Fox News must answer for this.”
CAPAC said in a statement, “Fox News host Jesse Watters joked about soldiers raping Asian women on national television. This is exactly the kind of vile, misogynistic rhetoric that dehumanizes Asian women and fuels real-world violence against them.
“Fox News, do you condone this behavior?”
Zeteo journalist Mehdi Hasan said, “A Fox host joking about U.S. soldiers raping women. Well done, Rupert Murdoch, well done” — a reference to the founder of Fox News.
Fox News has not responded to the criticism.
Sexual assault cases involving U.S. military personnel in Okinawa — which hosts the majority of U.S. bases in Japan — have been an ongoing problem for decades.
In 1995, three servicemen gang-raped a 12-year-old Okinawan girl.
In 2016, a former U.S. base worker raped and murdered a 20-year-old local woman.
In 2025, a Marine corporal was sentenced for choking and sexually assaulting a woman in her 20s.
These and other crimes have triggered massive protests against the U.S. military presence in Okinawa.