The Simpsons creator Matt Groening said the conversation surrounding Apu is now “tainted,” according to a new interview with The New York Times.
Groening was speaking to The New York Times to promote his new Netflix-animated series “Disenchantment” when the conversation turned to The Simpsons controversial Indian character Apu. When asked about how the character would be handled going forward from the accusations of racism, he said he wasn’t sure and turned his discussion towards the naming of Apu. “Back in the day, I named the character after the Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray,” he said. “I love Indian culture and Indian film and Indian music. I thought that the name was a signal that we had, at least, a scholarly intention.”
“I love the character, and it makes me feel bad that it makes other people feel bad. But on the other hand, it’s tainted now — the conversation, there’s no nuance to the conversation now. It seems very, very clunky,” claimed Groening.
Apu has been on the show since 1990 and has been criticized by many viewers as a racist and stereotypical portrayal of Indians. The criticism seemed to amplify when Hari Kondabolu’s documentary The Problem with Apu came out in 2017, which discussed the lack of South Asian figures in mainstream television and the many negative stereotypes and slurs against South Asians that are perpetuated by Apu’s character.
In a prior interview with USA Today, Groening had said that “people love to pretend they’re offended.” When the NY Times asked him about what he meant by that, he responded by saying that his sentiment wasn’t specifically about Apu but “about our culture in general.”
“I love the character and I would hate for him to go away,” said Groening, defending his character. “I am sorry that ‘The Simpsons’ would be criticized for having an Indian character that, because of our extraordinary popularity — I expected other people to do it. I go, maybe he’s a problem, but who’s better? Who’s a better Indian animated character in the last 30 years?”
Voice actor Hank Azaria, who is Caucasian and provided Apu with his stereotypical Indian accent, claimed he understood the problem with the portrayal and said he was happy to step aside.
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