Asian Actress Apologizes for Starring in 'Racist' Republican Ad

Lisa Chan, the Asian actress who starred in GOP senate candidate Pete Hoekstra's controversial Super Bowl ad, has apologized for her role in commercial that some have dubbed "racist."

"I am deeply sorry for any pain that the character I portrayed brought to my communities," Chan wrote on her Facebook page. "As a recent college grad who has spent time working to improve communities and empower those without a voice, this role is not in any way representative of who I am. It was absolutely a mistake on my part and one that, over time, I hope can be forgiven. I feel horrible about my participation and I am determined to resolve my actions."

The controversy centers around Chan's use of broken English in the spot that bashes Hoekstra's rival, Debbie Stabenow. HuffPo explains:

As she approached the camera, the actress thanked "Michigan Senator Debbie Spend-it-Now" for supposedly spending too much money, in turn helping the Chinese economy.

"Your economy get very weak. Ours get very good," she said in broken and stereotypically accented English.

Here's the original ad:

Hoekstra has faced criticism from both sides of the aisle over the ad. Not only have Democrats bashed him, but even national GOP consultant Mike Murphy called it "really, really dumb."

"We knew we were taking an aggressive approach on this," Hoekstra -- from Michigan -- said in the past in response to the criticism. "But this is a time where the people in Michigan and across the country are fed up with the spending, and we wanted to capture that frustration that they had with Washington, D.C. This ad ... hits Debbie smack dab between the eyes on the issue where she is vulnerable with the voters of Michigan, and that is spending."

But Hoekstra has since backed down. The website he created, Debbiespenditnow.com, now reroutes to Petespenditnot.com, and the ad is nowhere to be found on the site.

Take our poll from The Blaze's original story to weigh in: