Her comments on not being interested in falling into a mold to portray an Asian person brings to mind the recent Twitter blast from actor Kal Penn where he shared pictures of the most racist and stereotypical roles he was offered in his early acting years. From whitewashing to "Asian accents" there is a long way to go, as Penn remarks in a follow-up interview to his tweets . But influential entertainers, like Awkwafina and Aziz Ansari, are using their voice and prominence to show that not only are racist parts cliché and inaccurate — now they are going to say no to them, and just go out and write their own. That's the 2017 way to combat lazy, racist roles: be a triple threat and finally tell the diverse and inclusive stories not otherwise getting told.