After 30 years of voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon in the cartoon The Simpsons, Hank Azaria announced that he will no longer be voicing the Indian character.
“All we know there is I won’t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s some way to transition it or something,” Azaria said in an interview on Friday. “What they’re going to do with the character is their call.”
Azaria, 55, said the decision to cease voicing Apu was a mutual decision by him and the show’s producers. “We all made the decision together,” Azaria said. “We all agreed on it. We all feel like it’s the right thing and good about it.”
In 2017, the animated Indian character stoked controversy after comedian Hari Kondabolu, 37, created a documentary called The Problem with Apu. The documentary, according to Kondabolu, was intended to discuss the role of race and representation in television. However, many viewers felt that Apu represented a racist stereotype of Indian Americans.
Azaria originally addressed the controversy in April 2018 while on The Stephen Colbert Show, saying, “I wanted to spread laughter and joy with this character, and the idea that it’s brought pain and suffering in any way, that it was used to marginalize people, it’s upsetting.”
Kondabolu responded to Azaria’s announcement on Twitter, saying he hopes that the show keeps Apu as a character and does “something interesting with him.”
“My documentary The Problem with Apu was not made to get rid of a dated cartoon character, but to discuss race, representation & my community (which I love very much). It was also about how you can love something (like the Simpsons) & still be critical about aspects of it (Apu),” Kondabolu wrote.
My documentary “The Problem with Apu” was not made to get rid of a dated cartoon character, but to discuss race, representation & my community (which I love very much). It was also about how you can love something (like the Simpsons) & still be critical about aspects of it (Apu).
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) January 17, 2020
