Posted on 04/28/2023 7:16:22 PM PDT by algore
The Simpsons star Hank Azaria said he regrets playing his character Apu, despite previously admitting that he deliberately made the Indian Kwik-e-Mart owner's accent as offensive as possible.
The American actor, 59, who is white, started voicing Apu in 1989, although the character has since been phased out in recent years.
Azaria - who also voices Moe Szylak, Chief Wiggum and Comic Book Guy - was asked by the creators if he was able to do an Indian voice and to make it as offensive as possible.
'Right away, they were like: "Can you do an Indian voice and how offensive can you make?"' he claimed in 2007. When he pointed out the accent was stereotypical, he was told it was 'alright.'
Ten years later, Indian comedian Hari Kondabolu called the actor out in his documentary, The Problem With Apu. Kondabolu asked others of Indian descent if they had been called Apu before and everyone in the small group raised their hand.
Dana Gould told Kondabolu in his documentary that there are 'accents that by their nature to white Americans sound funny,' which the comedian branded as 'racist.'
Now, Azaria has admitted he regrets playing the character.
'And then that week or the following week, there was an Apu line and it was just written as clerk. And the producer - the director I was working with at the time said: "Can you do an Indian accent?" And I said: "Well, I can try and did my version of an Indian accent," and that was it,' Azaria, whose Jewish family reigns from Greece, said on NPR's Code Switch podcast.
'The only really Indian accent that I had context for, apart from guys who worked at the 7-Eleven that I was near in LA, was Peter Sellers in The Party,'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
When will he return 30 years of paychecks?
It’s really amazing how fast our cancel culture has descended on America.
What was funny just 10-15 years ago is now verboten.
And it shows no signs of slowing down.
Good question.
Hank has already “apologized’ for doing what he was paid to do. Too many such statements edge closer to having no real meaning. He came. He voiced. He became somewhat wealthy. Move on, Hank.
The world has not been knocked off it’s axis.
they should ban all accents
cuz its offensive
btw everyone has an accent
we should all speak in the same monotone voice
so no one will be offended
you know like a computer voice
A great character indeed. So sad to deny one’s self.
Apu was one of the few decent, well-meaning, hard-working characters on the simpsons ... a VERY sympathetic character ... it’s insane to think that the apu character should be cancelled ...
If any Simpsons character should be canceled, it is Mr. Burns!
He regret those paychecks too?
An actor who apologies for acting. If it bothers you, donate your salary to a special cause, Hank.
I was just thinking of him this week about this. Sad he feels this way.
This is what happens under socialism folks.
You’ve captured the essence of what is wrong and evil about wokism. Thin-skinned to the point of being transparent, they are so obsessed with playing the victim card that they are incapable of recognizing the adoration that people had toward the character.
They would rather be regarded as petty and small-minded and even churlish than to admit that identifying with Apu is a good thing (as Simpson characters go).
“If any Simpsons character should be canceled, it is Mr. Burns!”
OH NOES! NOT Mr. Burns! He’s my FAVORITE, FAVORITE, FAVORITE evil character or all times: release the hounds, Smithers ...
Maybe when they stop having people of color voice white characters and apologize, then the white voice actors apologize. And then everyone shuts the hell up about it and moves on because its over.
When will The Simpsons be taken off the air?
This is what commies do
can’t make the hegelian dialectic work (and keep them in power and relevant) without finding something to be the enemy side of the equation
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.