TORONTO -- 鈥楾he Simpsons鈥� actor Hank Azaria says he will no longer voice the character Apu amid ongoing controversy surrounding the alleged racial stereotyping of the character.
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is the Springfield convenience store owner known for his catchphrase, 鈥淭hank you, come again.鈥�
Azaria -- a white man -- has voiced the character for 30 years. But his depiction of the South Asian character has come increasingly under fire since the release of the 2017 documentary 鈥淭he Problem with Apu,鈥� which alleges that the cartoon incorporated too many racial stereotypes into the character.
On Friday, Azaria confirmed he would no longer voice the character in .
"All we know is I won't be doing the voice anymore, unless there's some way to transition it or something,鈥� Azaria said.
It remains unclear whether or not the character will be written out of the show.
鈥淲hat they鈥檙e going to do with the character is their call,鈥� Azaria said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 up to them and they haven鈥檛 sorted it out yet. All we鈥檝e agreed on is I won鈥檛 do the voice anymore.鈥�
Hari Kondabolu, comedian and director of the documentary 鈥淭he Problem with Apu,鈥� said Friday that his intention was never to have the character removed from the show, but to 鈥渄iscuss race, representation, and my community.鈥�
鈥淚f @HankAzaria is indeed no longer doing the voice of Apu, I do hope they keep the character and let a very talented writing staff do something interesting with him,鈥� Kondabolu tweeted.
鈥淢y documentary 鈥楾he Problem with Apu鈥� was not made to get rid of a dated cartoon character, but to discuss race, representation & my community (which I love very much). It was also about how you can love something (like the Simpsons) & still be critical about aspects of it (Apu).鈥�
In the documentary, Kondabolu references Azaria鈥檚 depiction of Apu as, 鈥渁 white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father.鈥�
It also features interviews with several people of South Asian descent, including comedian Aziz Ansari, who said the character fueled hurtful racial stereotypes and provided material for bullies.
In 2018, 鈥楾he Simpsons鈥� addressed the controversy during an episode where Marge and Lisa Simpson discuss a politically incorrect book.
During the scene, Lisa says, 鈥淪omething that started decades ago, and was applauded and inoffensive, is now politically incorrect. What can you do?鈥� She then looks at her nightstand which shows a framed picture of Apu, which features the caption, 鈥淒on鈥檛 have a cow!鈥�
That response attracted controversy of its own, with many fans calling it 鈥渢oothless.鈥�
Azaria has also previously addressed the concerns, apologizing to South Asian fans for any hurt the character has caused.
鈥淚t was certainly not my intention. I wanted to spread laughter and joy with this character and the idea that its brought pain and suffering in anyway, that it was used to marginalize people, is upsetting genuinely,鈥� Azaria said during an interview with Stephen Colbert in 2018.
