‘Simpsons’ actor apologizes for Apu
LOS ANidLdS >> Hank Azaria has issued an apology for voicing Kwik-EMart owner Apu on “The Simpsons,” a controversial role he played for 30 years despite Apu being Indian.
“I apologize for my part in creating that and participating in that,” Azaria said. “Part of me feels I need to go round to every single Indian person in this country and apologize.”
Azaria, who began voicing the convenience store owner in 1990, spoke about the recent controversies surrounding his character on Dax Shepherd’s “Armchair Expert” podcast. In January 2020, he stepped down from voicing Apu on “The Simpsons.” The voice actor insists the character was created with good intentions but said there were real negative consequences to the portrayal.
“I really didn’t know any better,” Azaria said. “I didn’t think about it. I was unaware of how much relative advantage I had received in this country as a white kid from Queens.”
Azaria said Peter Sellers’ performance in “The Party” inspired Apu’s voice on “The Simpsons.” Sellers, the white actor who portrayed the gawky Hrundi V. Bakshi in the film, wore brownface and perpetuated Indian stereotypes. Looking back, Azaria said this was “a great example of white privilege relative advantage.”
“At the time, Indian people were very upset with that portrayal back in 1966,” Azaria said. “I couldn’t be possibly passing along structural racism more perfectly, at least in a show business context, by taking something that was already upsetting and going, ‘Oh, this is wonderful!”’
Indian comic Hari Kondabolu outlined the negative stereotypes and racial microaggressions that Apu’s character represents in his documentary “The Problem With Apu,” which was released on truTV in 2017.
Kondabolu brought in various Indian talents from Hollywood to share their personal stories of how white people bullied them by using Apu’s character. Many people used Apu’s ubiquitous line “Thank you, come again” as the punchline for their harmful and racist gestures.