Sunisa Lee Reveals She Was Pepper-Sprayed and Called “Ching Chong” In LA

Sunisa Lee, who made history at the Tokyo Olympics this summer as the first Asian American woman to earn a gold medal in the all-around gymnastics competition, says she was pepper-sprayed in a racist attack last month while out with a group of friends in Los Angeles.

Lee told Pop Sugar that her attackers drove by and yelled “ching chong” and told her to “go back to where you came from.”

“I was so mad, but there was nothing I could do or control because they skirted off,” she recalled. “I didn’t do anything to them, and having the reputation, it’s so hard because I didn’t want to do anything that could get me into trouble. I just let it happen.”

Stop AAPI Hate has documented over 9,000 anti-Asian hate incidents in the U.S. during the pandemic.