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| Hank Azaria, left and Apu. |
ASAM NEWS
After 30 years playing the voice of Apu in the long-running show Simpsons, Hank Azaria says he’s stepping aside.
The character has long been controversial for its stereotypical depiction of Indian Americans, but the issue gained wide attention two years ago after the release of Hari Kondabolu’s documentary, The Problem with Apu.
There has been some speculation the character would be eliminated from the show.
“All we know there is I won’t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s someway to transition it or something,” Azaria said exclusively to /Film.
On the Simpson’s, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is an Indian immigrant who works at Kwik-E-Mart. He speaks in a heavy Indian accent and thanks every customer with his catch phrase, “Thank you, come again.”
The voice actor says his decision has been met with agreement from 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. The Indian community deserves to know they’ve been heard. Hopefully this is a step towards opening The Simpsons up so even more fans can love it as much as I have without feeling like the show is mocking them personally.”
Kondabolu went to Twitter to plead that the character not be phased out, but changed.
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