Maybe This Station Can Explain Why Its Offensive Olympics Graphic Existed In The First Place

A local TV station in Chicago is getting some heat after a pretty embarrassing Olympics graphics mixup. On Saturday morning, during a report about the political atmosphere at the games, local ABC affiliate WLS ran a graphic with the words “P.F. Chang 2018”—as in P.F. Chang’s, the Arizona-based pan-Asian “bistro.”

You’d think it would be pretty easy to tell the difference between Pyeongchang, the Korean Olympic host city known for its Buddhist temples, and P.F. Chang’s, a restaurant chain whose menu includes “Asian Caesar Salad” and cauliflower tempura. And you might think that mixing the two up could be a little racist. But it turns out the gaffe was nothing but one of those hilarious misunderstandings we keep hearing about!

From the Chicago Tribune:

The graphic was created for a different “satirical piece” put together on Friday by sports anchor Mark Giangreco in which viewers were encouraged to invent their own Olympic sports, but it was mistakenly also used for the serious news story read on Saturday by weekend anchor Mark Rivera, [WLS spokesperson Jayme] Nicholas said.

Even P.F. Chang’s got in on the fun in a very restrained and bland way:

Honestly, I’m still suspicious of the graphic’s existence in the first place, since the “satirical piece” also sounds offensive, but that’s just me. Maybe WLS can explain that too! I’ve reached out to the station for comment, and will update the post if I hear back.