Remember the woman in BBC's live interview? She's not the nanny

When several media outlets assumed that the frantic woman trying to salvage a BBC live interview was a nanny, observant viewers took notice.

And some took offence.

Political science professor Robert Kelly had been speaking to BBC on the impeachment of South Korea's former president Park Geun-hye last Friday (March 10) when his children made a fabulous entrance.

Seconds after he mumbled his apologies, a frantic woman burst into the room and dragged the children out in a spectacular save.

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Amused netizens quickly shared the video clip and commented on the panic-stricken woman's reaction to the event.  The "nanny" was now in trouble, many of them wrote.

That "nanny", as was later revealed, is actually Professor Kelly's wife, Jung-a Kim. The family lives in South Korea, where Kelly lectures at Pusan National University.

The false assumption that Kim was the nanny sparked a fierce debate on stereotypes, racism and what it means to be in an inter-racial relationship.

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"There are stereotypes of Asian women as servile, as passive, as fulfilling some kind of service role. People were quick to make that assumption," Mr Phil Yu, a blogger at Angry Asian Man, told the Los Angeles Times.

Setting the situation in context, BBC reporter Helier Cheung wrote that some families in the country do hire nannies when both parents work long hours.

However, she added: "Many people feel the assumption that Ms Kim was a helper, rather than the children's mother, was grounded in racial stereotypes about the roles played by Asian women."

But not everyone deemed the erroneous assumption as racist. Some claimed that the woman's panicked reaction suggested she was concerned about botching her duties. Others questioned if there was a need to blow up the matter and politicise an innocuous video.

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Ms Gracia Chua, co-founder of Wings to Wings Dance Development Studio, who is married to an Englishman, told AsiaOne: "To be honest, it is just a very simple matter. The Kellys could have just cleared it up with a family photo and a statement."

"Instead, he just apologised and looked irritated. That probably provoked the comments."

Singaporean financial analyst Cynthia Thane agreed.

The 26-year-old who is in a 1.5-year relationship with a London expat told AsiaOne that she was fortunate to not have encountered any racist experiences so far.

Ms Thane said that outraged netizens who are condemning the erroneous reports as racist, need to know the difference between ignorance and racism.

"Some people may not be well informed because they have not travelled as much. They may be influenced by Western media's portrayal of Asia, and conversations they might have had with friends in the same bubble."

Intentional or not, the stereotypes that Asians in inter-racial relationships face are real.

Ms Chua, who has a tanned complexion, said that she often gets mistaken as her mother's maid when she goes to the market.

The mother of two added: "I sometimes do receive phone calls looking for my husband, and when I answer the phone, they assume I'm his domestic helper.

"But I would just politely say, 'Oh this is Mrs Leaver, his wife. My name is Gracia and Chua is my maiden name'. The callers usually apologise about it."

BBC also reported that inter-racial couple from the United Kingdom, Tiffany Wong and Jonathan Smith, have heard unpleasant remarks while walking down the street.

"We have had people shout stuff at us," Ms Wong told BBC. "A guy yelled 'it's so sad you're going with an Asian girl' to John."

Mr Smith added that people would normally assume his partner is Caucasian, and that they might be surprised to learn she's not.

"It's not offensive - it's just that their first thought is that you date someone from your own race," he explained.

Do you think the false assumption was racist? Let us know in the poll below.

debwong@sph.com.sg