Margaret Cho Hits Fellow Actor Dean Cain Where It Hurts Most (Not His Balls)

Actor, Musician and Comedienne Margaret Cho is fearless and funny. She’s also FEIRCE one-time Superman actor now ‘ICE-Man’ (Honorary Agent) Dean Cain has learned the hard way. He’s not the only Hollywood type to publicly support Trump over the years. However his recent decision to ‘join ICE’ and produce a recruiting video hasn’t gone over well there. Cho called him out in very personal way referring to his Japanese heritage bluntly saying ‘You’ll never be white.’ As Chris Farley’s Tommy Boy character would say “That’s gonna leave a mark!”

I enjoyed reading this Daily Beast article on this take-down of Cain. Other than those Superman movies with Gene Hackman and Christopher Reeve I was never a fan of the whole Superman genre. However I gather the TV series in which Cain portrayed the character was reasonably popular for a bit. Other than that I couldn’t tell you a single thing he’s been in but I’m sure he has his fans.  As for me I’ve seen pictures of the guy and while I never really noticed his “look’ before NOW I can see his Japanese heritage.  Cho, of Korean descent has never hidden her own heritage and in fact has celebrated it.

I can see why she’d rip Cain, born Dean George Tanaka as she’s just done. Cho didn’t pull any punches for Cain’s deciding to ICE Barbie’s Poster Boy:

“Why would you join ICE and encourage people to join ICE when your ancestors were interned in World War II?” Cho asked in a video posted to her Instagram account with the text “Why would you join #ICE #dumb” written across it.

“You’re Japanese,” she continued, “You’re not even white… I know you, and you are not white.”

The Daily Beast goes on to provide some details about Cain. On his father’s side his ancestors are Japanese. His dad was a solider but other family members were interned in those camps during WWII. For his part the linked article says Cain has never tried to hide his Japanese heritage and even has the name Tanaka tattooed on his ankle. His ANKLE? Sure dude, that’s really boldly proclaiming your heritage!  I’ll say again it’s not like I knew much about Cain, but I DO know actors of Asian heritage who’ve advocated for more representation in film and TV. Who celebrate that heritage, the same way Americans of say Irish or Italian heritage do.

Cain? Not that I know of but if anyone reading this has examples of him touting he’s half Asian (Japanese) please correct me in the comments section. I got curious and checked out his Wikepedia entry and can see why he doesn’t talk much about that aspect of his life. From Wikipedia:

Cain said of his father, whom he never met, “He’s not the kind of man I want to be. He was an unfaithful husband and not much of a father.” Soon after Dean’s birth, his mother, pursuing an acting career, moved him and his older brother Roger to Los Angeles. In 1969, Sharon married the film director Christopher Cain, who adopted Dean and Roger. The couple moved to Malibu, California, and had a daughter, Krisinda.^[8][5]

I’ll be honest and say had I been a budding celebrity who’d been known as Dean Cain most of my life (Cain was born in 1966) life, almost from even before I can remember I’d prefer to leave that aspect of my background out of my life story.  So maybe his dad was a dirtbag and from what he learned about the rest of his dad’s family they were no great shakes either. Despite a hint of an exotic look he could pass as a white guy with a history of growing up as Dean Cain. Mentioning his Japanese heritage was something he might well have found embarrassing and damaging to his career.

Still, secrets have a way of coming out and Cain might have to deal with all that stuff he’d kept mostly hidden away under the rug for so long. However let’s face it, a guy mostly known for playing a character who was LITERALLY an illegal alien being the poster boy for ICE recruiting is more than a little ironic. I can’t help but wonder if like Stephen Miller who seems ashamed of his Jewish roots Cain/Tanaka is ashamed of his Japanese ones. And is as they say overcompensating.

Cain spouts the same Trump/Noem lies and bullshit about arresting “criminals” even though the data shows most of those rounded up don’t have criminal records or have been charge with a crime. Except maybe not filing the right form at some annual check-in or some other technicality. I guess Cain misses being a “star” playing Superman on TV. Now he’s cosplaying a variation – instead of Superman Clarke Kent transforms into ICE-MAN!  Pretty pathetic from where I sit.

Fortunately there are people who unlike me are famous enough to have a platform and some like Cho have courage. Calling him a dumbass for example. And mocking him for being a modern version of the slave plantation owner’s ‘House N!@@$r.’ The slave in charge of all the other main house’s slave got special consideration to be sure but they were never, ever thought of as white, even if light skinned enough to pass.  Which is what Cho says of Cain/Tanaka as noted at the end of the Daily Beast article:

“You’re never gonna be white, no matter how many of these white activities that you participate in,” Cho added in her video. “No matter how racist you are… Always Wong, never white.”

I truly believe that’s going to hurt him in a way I can’t put into words. As a former football player he’d probably prefer to get kicked in the balls by his team’s punter than have THAT out there!

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