‘Spun Out’ producer apologizes for tweets that ‘hurt many in Asian community’

TORONTO – The co-creator of the CTV sitcom “Spun Out” has apologized for hurting “many in the Asian community” after a series of tweets many deemed racially insensitive.

On Saturday, Brent Piaskoski tweeted about his plane trip from Los Angeles to Calgary.

Though the tweets have since been deleted, Piaskoski complained about what he saw as the poor manners of several passengers of Asian origin.

The Toronto Star reproduced several of the offending tweets, including:

— “There is no shouting for Chinese people; Only talking”

— “I bet there is no Chinese character for Eat with your mouth closed”

— “OK. I’m just going to come out and say it. Chinese people are weird.”

The Star also reported he posted a photo to Instagram depicting waiting Asian passengers with the caption: “It’s exactly as loud as you think.”

On Tuesday morning, Piaskoski attributed the off-colour tweets to a “hasty attempt to be funny.”

“I sincerely apologize for my tweets this past weekend, and to those who were offended by my remarks,” he said. “These harmful comments don’t represent anybody at CTV, Project 10, cast, crew or my fellow executive producers.

“They don’t even represent me,” he added. “I am truly sorry.”

The Calgary-born Piaskoski’s credits as a writer include “According to Jim,” “Naturally, Sadie” and “Radio Free Roscoe,” for which he won a Gemini Award.

“Spun Out,” which stars Dave Foley as the head of a public relations agency, was recently renewed for a second 13-episode season.

Piaskoski has more than 3,100 Twitter followers.