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The practice of having white actors voicing characters of colour came under fire following the 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu
. The film, by comedian Hari Kondabolu, investigated the legacy of the Kwik-E-Mart owner, and the impact of him being the most high-profile South Asian character on America TV in the 1990s.
Apu has always been voiced by Hank Azaria, but following the documentary, pressure grew for the role to be recast or the character retired. Then in January of last year, Azaria announced that he won t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s some way to transition it or something .