I don't get this and I see it reversed all the time. Chinese have a problem pronouncing the R, not the L (Li is a common last name too). So why would they say whoRe instead of whoLe?
EDIT>> I think people mean to make fun of Japanese where the letter L doesn't exist so it becomes an R. And Lee isn't even close to Japanese nor is the context where people always attempt this.
I'm sure it's a mute point since they're ignolant and could care less.
I think substituting L for R is an example of hyper-correction. To make sure that they don't incorrectly substitute R for L, they are often over-zealous when it comes to English and substitute L for R even where it is supposed to be an R.
I recently bought the Japanese version of Mario Kart 64 for giggles because I remember it having the Wave Race 64 announcer on the menus instead of Charles Martinet's Mario voice (1st played on a Doctor V64 back in the '90s). Because Charles Martinet does Mario's voice in Japan too, I also expected Nintendo of America's Leslie Swan to be voicing Peach. Unlike the U.S. version of Super Mario 64, she had no voice in the original Japanese version until the later Shindoh Edition, but Mario Kart 64 came out first and they needed a voice. It seems like they stayed local: When you select her she clearly says "Get Lady." Obviously, this is supposed to be "Get Ready."