'Simpsons' voice actor for controversial 'Apu' character regrets pushing 'marginalizing, dehumanizing stereotype'

A former actor for the long-running television show "The Simpsons" recently expressed regret for voicing the controversial character "Apu" and helping to create a "marginalizing, dehumanizing stereotype."

During an appearance on NPR's podcast "Code Switch," voice actor Hank Azaria, who described his ancestry as "Sephardic Jews from Greece," recently condemned his role as Apu on the famous cartoon sitcom.

Apu was a recurring Indian-American character on the show who ran the Kwik-E-Mart convenience store and was known for his catchphrase, "Thank you, come again."

Comedian Hari Kondabolu, who is of Indian descent, slammed Azaria in 2017 for voicing the character and condemned Hollywood's depiction of South Asians in a documentary called "The Problem with Apu."

Azaria spoke with Kondabolu on the podcast during their first public conversation since the initial controversy erupted, and the two discussed the voice actor's role.

Kondabolu referred to Azaria's voice acting of Apu as "a white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father."

"If I saw Hank Azaria do that voice at a party, I would kick the s**t out of him," the comedian said.

The actor admitted to being skeptical of Kondabolu's criticism in 2017 and "afraid" to address the issue. However, Azaria said watching the comedian's documentary made him realize he had made the "path harder" for performers he admires.

"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,'" Azaria stated. "It was an homage to that, you know, one of my heroes."

"I was really freaked out," Azaria said, referring to the comments Kondabolu made against him in 2017. "You know, you're a comedian, and some of your stuff is gotcha, you know, and has bite to it, as well it should. It's hilarious, and it makes good points. Being on the other end of that really, really scared me, you know?"

Azaria called his casting as Apu "embarrassing" and said he believes it pushed "the broader dehumanization of Desi people in the United States."

"I helped to create a pretty marginalizing, dehumanizing stereotype," the voice actor added.

The podcast's host, Gene Demby, noted that Azaria attended seminars on "race and power and privilege," which allowed him to feel comfortable as a "beginner on race stuff."

Azaria thanked Kondabolu for "dragging me and pushing me into this conversation."

"There's this history of white folks talking about what they've learned and sharing the knowledge without giving credit to the people of color that actually got them there. This is every person of color who has put in work," Kondabolu replied.

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