Remember Amy Chua? Perhaps Tiger Mom rings a bell. She’s the Yale Law School professor who penned the bestseller Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. As our readers may remember, we thought the book — derided by many — was not only self-aware but rather poignant. It was, however, no blueprint for how Asian American students, like her daughters, should go about navigating the college admissions process. After all, Amy made her children play musical instruments and, as we’ve long argued, showcasing a musical talent on college applications is one Asian American applicants can set themselves up to face discrimination in the process since there are so many talented Asian American applicants who play musical instruments and the whole game in elite college admissions is differentiation. Well, it seems Professor Chua is in some trouble.

As Anna Zolotor reports for The Duke Chronicle in a piece entitled “Former Duke Law School professor Amy Chua embroiled in ‘Dinner Party-gate’ controversy at Yale Law,” “Amy Chua, former professor of law at Duke Law School and the current John M. Duff, Jr. professor of law at Yale Law School, has been facing allegations that she invited students and possibly federal judges to dinner parties at her home this past winter.  In March, several law students reported that Chua had hosted parties with food and alcohol at her house that winter, presenting screenshotted text threads as evidence. While this wouldn’t normally be grounds for disciplinary action, students and faculty had been asked not to host or attend maskless indoor gatherings because of the pandemic. The situation was further complicated by the fact that Chua, who is widely known for her controversial memoir ‘Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother,’ pledged in 2019 to avoid drinking or socializing with students. Her promise followed allegations of excessive drinking and offensive comments.”

But, as they say in the infomercials, that’s not all. Amy’s husband, also a high-profile Yale Law School professor, was suspended for sexual harassment back in August 2020. It will thus be interesting to see if Amy and Jed stay put in New Haven or soon pack their bags for another college campus. They just might not wish to remain pariahs at Yale for too much longer…but do stay tuned to see what happens!