Hank Azaria Will No Longer Voice 'Apu' on THE SIMPSONS
According to Slashfilm, Hank Azaria will no longer voice the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on "The Simpsons" due to criticism of racism.
"All we know there is I won't be doing THE VOICE anymore, unless there's someway to transition it or something," Azaria said.
It is unclear at this point what that means for the character, as he has been voiced by Azaria since 1990.
"What they're going to do with the character is their call," Azaria said. "It's up to them and they haven't sorted it out yet. All we've agreed on is I won't do THE VOICE anymore."
According to The New York Times, the producers of "The Simpsons" and FOX did not comment on whether Apu would get a new voice or be retired from the show.
Read more on Slashfilm and The New York Times.
Hari Kondabolu, who created a documentary "The Problem With Apu" in 2017, spoke out about the issues following the report of Azaria stepping away.
"I do hope they keep the character & let a very talented writing staff do something interesting with him," he writes. "If not to better the show, then to atleast spare me some death threats."
My documentary "The Problem with Apu" was not made to get rid of a dated cartoon character, but to discuss race, representation & my community (which I love very much). It was also about how you can love something (like the Simpsons) & still be critical about aspects of it (Apu).
- Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) January 17, 2020
