The Simpsons star Hank Azaria reveals character he regrets playing
The Simpsons star Hank Azaria has revealed the character he regrets playing on the animated series.
The Simpsons star Hank Azaria revealed he regrets playing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on the animated series.
The Indian convenience store clerk was a much-loved fixture in the cartoon series, but criticism emerged in 2017 that the show’s producers had for decades relied on offensive stereotypes.
Initially, the producers tried to laugh off complaints, which were sparked by the documentary The Problem With Apu by Indian American comedian Hari Kondabolu.
Apu was “sidelined” and Azaria, who is white, announced in 2020 that he would no longer voice the character.
Chatting with Kondabolu on the podcast Code Switch, the 59-year-old actor opened up about his regret for voicing the character.
He also confessed that he was “afraid” to talk to Kondabolu about the issue and declined to be in The Problem With Apu.
“I was really freaked out,” Azaria told Kondabolu.
“You know, you’re a comedian, and some of your stuff is gotcha, you know, and has bite to it, as well it should. It’s hilarious and it makes good points.
“But being on the other end of that really scared me.
“At the time, I don’t know if I would have felt safe to have the conversation privately, let alone ‘Roll em – we’re going to record it.’”
While he was initially sceptical that the character was harmful, The Birdcage star said that after he watched The Problem With Apu, he realised that he had “hindered” and made the “path harder” for performers that he admires.
But after years of self-reflection and digging into the controversy, Azaria admitted that he now finds his casting “embarrassing” and acknowledged how his character fed into “the broader dehumanisation of Desi people in the United States.”
He later added, “I helped to create a pretty marginalising, dehumanising stereotype.”
The actor expressed his gratitude to Kondabolu for “dragging me and pushing me into this conversation.”
Azaria, who voices a range of other notable characters on The Simpsons, including Chief Wiggum, Moe and Comic Book Guy, started on the series in 1989.
He recalled how he became the voice of Apu after one of the producers casually asked if he would try an Indian accent.
“The only really Indian accent that I had context for, apart from guys who worked at the 7-Eleven that I was near in LA, was Peter Sellers in The Party,” he said.
“It was an homage to that, you know, one of my heroes.”
Adding to the issue, Sellers, a white man, starred as Hrundi V. Bakshi in brownface in that 1968 film.
The Problem With Apu sparked an ongoing debate about representation on television; The Simpsons addressed the controversial topic.
In the 2018 episode No Good Read Goes Unpunished, the characters Marge and Lisa Simpson indirectly discuss the controversy around the characterisation.
In the scene, Marge is seen reading a book to daughter Lisa that attempts to make it more politically correct, but Lisa objects. Marge then asks her daughter what she should do.
Lisa turned to the camera and said: “It’s hard to say. Something that started a long time ago, decades ago, that was applauded and was inoffensive, is now politically incorrect. What can you do?”
A photo of Apu, inscribed with the words “Don’t have a cow” is then shown on Lisa’s bedside table. The phrase is a favourite of Bart’s, meaning don’t get all upset about it.
“Some things will be dealt with at a later date,” Marge promised.
“If at all,” Lisa added.
#TheSimpsons completely toothless response to @harikondabolu#TheProblemWithApu about the racist character Apu:
— soham (@sohamberlamps) April 9, 2018
"Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect... What can you do?" pic.twitter.com/Bj7qE2FXWN
Reaction to the episode on social media was mixed.
Some people approved of the response and pointed out that a lot of characters in the fictional town of Springfield are based on stereotypes while others said the brief reference brushed off the debate.
Kondabolu responded to the episode on Twitter: “Wow. ‘Politically Incorrect?’ That’s the takeaway from my movie & the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad.”
At the time, representatives for Fox and 20th Century Fox Television said that producers prefer to let the episode “speak for itself”.
Azaria addressed the controversy on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert in 2018.
“It’s come to my attention more and more over the past couple years,” he said.
“The idea that anyone young or old, past or present, being bullied based on Apu really makes me sad,” he continued.
“It certainly was not my intention. I wanted to bring joy and laughter to people.”
Since Azaria stopped voicing the character, Apu has been mostly sidelined from the longtime show.
– with NY Post
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