Fake Tiger Mom Causes Real Screaming Match At Restaurant

Did you think the whole Tiger Mom controversy was over? Well, always-tasteful ABC show What Would You Do? digs it up and mercilessly flogs its corpse in this segment, in which an actress playing a mean Asian mom berates her daughter as shocked diner patrons look on.

The whole setup here is so unpleasant that I had to pause the video in the middle and take a breather. We know it’s fake, but it’s still a kid getting yelled at in a restaurant, and it’s uncomfortable to watch as fake Tiger Mom Rachel’s insults get more extreme. And although Rachel’s using tactics and comments Amy Chua mentions in The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, she’s cobbling them all together into a caricature of a mean mom that plays right into anti-Asian stereotype. Also, a nice-seeming middle-aged lady is eventually whipped into a screaming rage by Rachel’s continued meanness, all to show … what exactly? What Would You Do: sowing discord among innocent people and making viewers squirm in discomfort, every Friday at 9.