Azaria said he spent the better part of a year doing the work , in which he 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. Azaria, who voices a range of other notable characters in the series, including Chief Wiggum, Moe and Comic Book Guy, said Apu was created with only good intentions. I really didn t know any better. 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.
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In a podcast, he said he didn t know any better, apologises to every Indian person and takes responsibility for consequences.
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.
Hank Azaria has issued an apology for voicing Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu on
The Simpsons, a controversial role he played for 30 years despite Apu being Indian. I apologise 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 apologise.
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.
Hank Azaria apologises for racist The Simpsons character Apu
13 Apr, 2021 10:32 PM
3 minutes to read
news.com.au
Hank Azaria, the actor who has voiced The Simpsons character Apu for three decades, has apologised for his portrayal s racist connotations.
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.
Apu was sidelined and Azaria announced last January that he would no longer voice the character.
Apu, store owner from TV Series The Simpsons. Photo / New York Times
Now, he has issued an apology for his involvement in the hurt felt by the Indian community, telling Dax Shepherd s Armchair Expert podcast: Just because there were good intentions it doesn t mean there weren t real negative consequences to the thing that I am accountable for.