Hank Azaria’s Taking The High Road

Hank Azaria is “willing to step aside” from his role voicing The Simpsons‘ Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. He appeared on CBS‘ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Tuesday, and naturally, the topic came up.

The character of Apu, a Kwik-E-Mart owner, was introduced in the 1990s, and while some fans love Apu, critics say he is an offensive stereotype. The topic was recently the subject of Hari Kondabolu‘s TruTV documentary, The Problem With Apu.

• “It has come to my attention more and more-especially the last couple of years, as you say-that people in the South Asian community in this country have been fairly upset by the voice and characterization of Apu,” Azaria said, adding, “It’s sparked a lot of conversation about what should be done with the character moving forward, which is not so easy to answer. I’ve tried to express this before. You know, the idea that anybody who is young or old, past or present, was bullied or teased based on the character of Apu, it just really makes me sad. It certainly was not my intention. I wanted to bring laughter and joy with this character. The idea that it’s brought pain and suffering-in any way-that is used to marginalize people, it is upsetting. Genuinely.”
• He also distanced himself from the show’s response to the issue. Earlier this month, Marge read a book to Lisa that had been changed from its original to suit critics.
• “Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect,” Lisa said. “What can you do?” Then the screen panned to a portrait of Apu, making the reference clear.
• On Colbert, Azaria said, “I had nothing to do with the writing or voicing. Apu doesn’t speak in that segment. It was a late addition that I saw right around the same time that everybody else in America did. So, I didn’t know it was going to be in it until I saw it. I think that if anybody came away from that segment feeling that they should lighten up or take a joke better or grow a thicker skin or toughen up…yeah, that’s certainly not the way I feel about it. And that is definitely not the message that I want to send.”
• After the show aired, director Kondabolu reached out to Azaria on Twitter, writing, “I appreciate what you said & how you said it.” Others were less pleased however, tweeting that critics were “ruining comedy.”