Hank Azaria apologizes for decades of voicing Apu on 'The Simpsons'

Hank Azaria is doing something rare: admitting that he made a mistake and apologizing for it. The acclaimed voice actor best known for his work on The Simpsons is making amends for decades of being the man behind the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, long seen as a hurtful, stereotypical, and racist portrayal of Indian individuals and communities. Azaria’s apology stands in direct opposition to the defense of the character that creator Matt Groening made last month, when he claimed that he was “proud” of the controversial Apu.

Azaria feels differently. “Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize,” he said during an interview with Dax Shepard on Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast. “And sometimes I do.”

When Azaria stepped away from the role of the Kwik-E-Mart owner last year, it led him to do his own research about racism and racist portrayals of people of colour. He occasionally shares what he’s learned on social media. 

But it’s been personal, one-on-one experiences that have been the most enlightening for Azaria, who also discussed his addiction issues and sobriety with Shepard. “I was speaking at my son’s school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input,” Azaria said to Shepard. “A 17-year-old… he’s never even seen The Simpsons, but knows what ‘Apu’ means. It’s practically a slur at this point. All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country.” 

The actor described the boy as having tears in his eyes as he asked Azaria to use his voice to talk about representation with others in the film and television industry. Azaria has also ceased voicing a Black character on The Simpsons, Carl Carlson.

Comedian Hari Kondabolu was among the first to draw public attention to how problematic Apu was as a character in a 2017 documentary titled The Problem With Apu. Following Azaria’s Armchair Expert appearance, Kondabolu tweeted: 

As for the future of Apu, Groening is determined to keep the character on screen. “We’ve got plans for Apu, but we have to see if we can make the stories work,” he told USA Today. “We’re working on something kind of ambitious. That’s all I can say.”

Azaria continues to voice Simpsons characters like bartender Moe, Police Chief Wiggum, Superintendent Chalmers, Disco Stu, and others. 

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