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Hank Azaria apologises for his portrayal of stereotypical Indian character Apu on The Simpsons

Hank Azaria apologises for his portrayal of stereotypical Indian character Apu on The Simpsons

In a podcast, he said he didn't know any better, apologises 'to every Indian person' and takes responsibility for consequences.
14 Apr, 2021

Hank Azaria, the white actor that voiced The Simpsons' infamous Indian store owner Apu, has apologised to 'to every Indian person' for his portrayal of the character. The actor announced his decision to step down from voicing the character in January 2020. Apu has been the subject of prolonged criticism over the years for perpetuating and reinforcing offensive stereotypes.

Azaria started voicing the character with the show's inception in 1989, and continues to voice several other characters to this day.

Appearing on the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by actors Dax Shephard and Monica Padman, an Indian-American herself, the 56-year-old actor said, "Part of me feels like I need to go around to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologise." To Padman, he said, “I really do apologise. I know you weren’t asking for that but it’s important."

Azaria noted that it took him quite a bit of time to recognise the problem in his portrayal of Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and to understand just how offensive it was for the Indian-American community.

“I really didn’t know any better,” he said. “I didn’t think about it. I was unaware how much relative advantage I had received in this country as a white kid from Queens." He admitted that he slowly came to realise how Apu was the only substantial representation of Indian-Americans in American pop culture for about 20 years. “If that were the only representation of my people in American pop culture,” he said, “I don’t think I would’ve been crazy about that.”

He also felt it was important he took responsibility for the consequences of his actions, saying, "Just because there were good intentions it doesn’t mean there weren’t real negative consequences to the thing that I am accountable for.”

Azaria spoke about how he's been dealing with his realisation since stepping down from the role, saying, "[I] read, spoke to people who knew a lot about racism, spoke to lots of Indian people and went to seminars. I realised I have had a date with destiny with this thing for 31 years."

Apu's character in the show is shown to be West Bengali immigrant with a doctorate in computer science, and his story lines have been stereotypically problematic. The character was criticised closely in 2017 documentary The Problem With Apu, created by Indian comedian Hari Kondablou, to "confront how Western culture depicts South Asian communities".

Commenting on Azaria's remarks, Kondablou called him kind, saying he proves that "people are not simply products of their time”.

Though, after appreciating Azaria for his thoughts, in a later tweet, Kondablou maintained that the situation, with all the 'controversy' around The Simpsons' casting and writing, was a comeuppance for the show itself.

The Simpsons has since confirmed that no white actors will be playing non-white characters on the show. Earlier this year Matt Groening, the show's creator, told the BBC the show was striving for inclusivity.

Comments

Solomon The King Apr 14, 2021 12:24pm
this sudden becoming of conscious is more to protest erupted from the killing of a black man in the US by the US police, otherwise, they love darogatory displays of black and other ethnic minorities. But as for The Simpsons it would be not interesting if there were no sarcasim and the show does not spare the white kind either especially when it comes to targetting the white-concentrated US political and administrative setup.
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Abbasshah Apr 14, 2021 12:40pm
At last you realised the sensitivity’s.
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Ali Apr 14, 2021 01:01pm
Was bound to happen under the new ‘wokeness’ in the US
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Parvez Apr 14, 2021 01:08pm
The ability to laugh at yourself is a sign of maturity.
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Umer Apr 14, 2021 01:49pm
Apologies for what? The Simpsons is a work of fiction and Hank Azaria is an actor who was hired to perform a role. Will actors start apologizing for the roles they perform? Apu's accent is based on realism and period accuracy. Show me a first generation non-native English Speaking Immigrant working at a convenience store with a prefect British or American accent? So if a character who is a first generation of Indian decent is to be portrayed, I guess it will be appropriate and more "politically correct" to be shown as white with blond hair and a British accent wearing a t-shirt which says "I am Suppose to be Indian" .
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sherry saleem Apr 14, 2021 01:59pm
so its not freedom of expression when u make a indian character in cartoon but its freedom of expression when u target religious figures and Prophets???? what a double standard world we live in ...
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Faisal Ghani Apr 14, 2021 02:06pm
The whole Simpsons series is full of stereotypes. Will the whole series be abandoned, the actors will apologize, and the series producers give all the money earned through the series to charities?
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Rick Apr 14, 2021 05:59pm
This is getting ridiculous, I really enjoyed this character. Apologised for what.
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Qbmx Apr 14, 2021 06:47pm
30 years of insults wiped out in an eyewash of an apology. surely he should feel some shame.
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Tea is Fantastic !!! Apr 15, 2021 12:12am
Why Indians are complaining. Hollywood has set a standard. In the eyes of Hollywood, Pakistani is a taxi driver, a terrorist or a doctor. Indian is a storekeeper, yogi, a doctor or a scientist. Mexican is a cleaner or Taco Bell worker.
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LgbtqX Apr 15, 2021 04:30am
Nothing there to apologize, there are so many movies and comedies where people portray different accents.
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