*Hank Azaria says he owes the Indian community in the U.S. an apology for voicing “The Simpsons” character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.
Speaking on a recent episode of Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Azaria explained he was a “big part in creating the problem” that pushed racial stereotypes on the beloved series. He recalled meeting with Indian students at his son’s school to get their input on the character. One male student who never saw the show was quite familiar with Apu for all the wrong reasons.
“It’s practically a slur at this point,” Azaria told Shepard, Variety reports. “All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country.”
Azaria announced in January that he would no longer voice Apu, telling Stephen Colbert “I think the most important thing is to listen to Indian people and their experience with it,” he said.
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Despite abandoning the role, Azaria told Shepard that he still feels it’s important to apologize for giving the character life.
“I apologize for my part in creating that and participating in that,” he said. “Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do.”
His comments follow criticism over non-white characters being voiced by white actors on the beloved animated series.
“Moving forward, “The Simpsons” will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters,” the producers noted in a statement last June, with actor Alex Désert now taking over Azaria’s former role of Black character Carl Carlson.
We previously reported, actor Kevin Michael Richardson, a Black man, has been tapped to replace Harry Shearer as the voice of Dr. Hibbert on “The Simpsons.”
Mike Henry also confirmed last year that he would be stepping away from “Family Guy,” voicing Cleveland Brown.
“It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years,” Henry explained via Twitter. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color.”
Henry has provided the voice of the character since the Fox animated series’ debut in 1999.
You can listen to Azaria’s appearance on Armchair Expert here.
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