The Simpsons actor Hank Azaria apologizes to ‘every Indian person’ for voicing character Apu
"Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do," said Hank about the lessons he learned following controversy over his voiceover role.
Hank Azaria, voiced the role of the Indian American shopkeeper from the show’s inception in 1989 but stood down last year amid criticism of racial stereotyping. He said he was willing to be held accountable for its “negative consequences”.
Speaking on Monday on the Armchair Expert podcast hosted by the actors Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, who is Indian American, Azaria, 56, said that though he believed the show was founded on good intentions, it contributed to the “structural racism” in the US.
The Simpsons had come under fire over the years for its depiction of Apu, whose thick Indian accent — voiced by a white Azaria — caused backlash and accusations of racism. In 2017, the documentary The Problem With Apu examined the damage of the portrayal and enduring stereotype, and how that rippled through society over decades.
“I’ve had a date with destiny with this thing for about 31 years,” he said. “Part of me feels like I need to go around to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize, and sometimes I do when it comes up.”
While the Emmy winner continues to voice other parts on the Fox comedy, including Moe Szyslak, and gave voice to Apu from his first appearance on the show in 1990, he announced in February of last year that he would no longer be playing the role. The decision emerged as part of a broad cultural shift in animation, as the industry came to the belief that characters of colour should not be voiced by white actors, with other ‘Simpsons’ roles also being recast.
In The Simpsons, Apu, an immigrant from West Bengal with a doctorate in computer science, runs the Kwik-E-Mart convenience store in Springfield. Storylines involving him have often been contentious, including an episode aired in 1996 in which the mayor sought to expel undocumented migrants and Apu purchased a forged birth certificate from local mobsters.
From the actor’s perspective, Apu was a character created with good intentions. “We tried to do a funny, thoughtful character,” he said. “[But] just because there were good intentions doesn’t mean there weren’t real negative consequences that I am accountable for.”
