What does Yellow Peril mean? Harvard Professor Larry Summers accused of using racial slur in Epstein email

The Harvard Professor Larry Summers is under fire after his email exchange with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein surfaced recently. 

On Wednesday, November 12, the House Oversight Committee released numerous private conversations of the deceased sex offender, including those with the economist. According to The Harvard Crimson, in a series of texts and emails, Summers sought relationship advice from Epstein, who once described himself as the professor’s “wing man.” 

The conversations dated between November 2018 and July 5, 2019 – a day before the financier’s arrest – depicted Summers and Epstein talking about the former’s younger Chinese female mentee. They code-named the person as “peril.” After the texts emerged, many accused the professor-economist of using a racial slur as the code-name. 

Benjamin Ryan, an independent journalist, asserted that Epstein and Summers referred to her as “Peril” (Yellow Peril) due to her Chinese heritage. Many others made similar allegations against the former Secretary of the Treasury. 

Jeffrey Epstein and Larry Summers, former Harvard president and treasury secretary, bantered about Summers’ desire to sleep with a mentee.

They called her “peril”—as in “yellow peril.”

She is Chinese.

Summers, who remains a tenured Harvard professor, has been married since… pic.twitter.com/lsoe37GYya

— Benjamin Ryan (@benryanwriter) November 17, 2025

According to Merriam-Webster, the term "Yellow Peril" has historically carried an offensive meaning. It describes an alleged danger to Western civilization due to the expansion and influence of people of East Asian descent. Another dated and offensive definition of Yellow Peril reads (via Merriam-Webster.com): 

“A threat to Western living standards from the influx of eastern Asian laborers willing to work for very low wages” 

According to Dictionary.com, the word is disparagingly used as an offensive slur towards Asian people, who are regarded as presenting an alleged danger to Western civilization or populations. Apart from conversations about his mentee, Summers and Epstein exchanged hundreds of emails over the years. 

After the conversations went public, the former Harvard president stepped back from public roles. He also expressed his regret over the new revelations that surfaced after the House Oversight Committee’s recent release.  

Larry Summers steps back from public life and expresses regret over Epstein emails

According to The Harvard Crimson, the former National Economic Council director and professor had been linked to the disgraced financier for years. Summers and Epstein reportedly exchanged emails up until a day before the latter’s arrest in July 2019. 

According to The Crimson, the House Oversight Committee’s recent release revealed hundreds of emails exchanged between the duo between 2013 and 2019. After the Epstein Estate’s new revelations, Professor Larry Summers withdrew from his public commitments. 

He expressed his regret in a statement to Politico: 

“I am deeply ashamed of my actions and recognize the pain they have caused.” 

Summers added: 

“I take full responsibility for my misguided decision to continue communicating with Mr. Epstein. While continuing to fulfill my teaching obligations, I will be stepping back from public commitments as one part of my broader effort to rebuild trust and repair relationships with the people closest to me.” 

The Crimson also quoted Larry Summers, who said: 

“I have great regrets in my life. As I have said before, my association with Jeffrey Epstein was a major error of judgement.”

According to The Crimson, some Harvard University faculty members have condemned Summers following the recent controversy. While many professors declined to speak, Statistics professor Joseph K. Blitzstein said in a written statement to the student newspaper: 

“The cozy friendship between Epstein and Summers on display in the emails is disgusting and disgraceful.” 

Walter Johnson, a professor of History and African and African American Studies, referenced Larry Summers’ remarks about women at the National Bureau of Economic Research conference in 2005 and said: 

“I’m not sure what we’ve learned from it all. I think Larry Summers told us who he was a long time ago.” 

In 2005, Larry Summers discussed the underrepresentation of women in science and engineering, presenting his hypotheses that sparked controversy, with many accusing him of sexism. In the following year, the professor stepped down as president of Harvard University. 

Summers is also a longtime Democrat and has been a former member of the Clinton and Obama administrations.