'Great British Bake Off' Grilled Over 'Problematic' Japanese Week

A recent episode of Great British Bake Off is being criticized for cultural insensitivity. The "Japanese week" installment of the beloved reality show has many viewers cringing, or even outraged, on social media. Many believe the episode perpetuated negative stereotypes of Japanese culture and people and noted that it was also full of inaccuracies.

The "Japanese week" episode of GBBO featured three challenges supposedly built around Japanese themes, but viewers thought it fell short. The Signature Bake was a batch of eight steamed buns called bao, which actually originated in China, not Japan. The Technical Challenge required bakers to make a matcha crepe cake, with plenty of other non-Japanese techniques and ingredients along the way. One of the overwhelming criticisms here was that the show was reinforcing the racist and harmful view that all East Asian cultures are essentially the same, and interchangeable.

Critics were particularly furious because they saw the potential that the episode did not live up to. Torchwood star Naoko Mori tweeted: "With [Paul Hollywood] apparently having recently visited Japan, I ready, set, and waited in anticipation for tonight. "Would they be baking DORAYAKI? Might they be making MUSHIPAN? Or could they be using MOCHI or baking SENBEI...?? The answer was no. None of the above."

Adding to the insults here were numerous mispronunciations, which viewers thought was avoidable, and a heavy reliance on the stereotype of "Kawaii" aesthetic. Here is a look at how viewers responded to Great British Bake Off's controversial "Japanese week" episode.