The voice actor of The Simpsons, Hank AzariaHe explained why he stopped lending his voice to Apu Nahasapemapeilon in the program.
The long -term animated series was criticized after the launch of the 2017 documentary The Problem With Apu of Hari Kondaboluwhich affirmed that the character was an offensive stereotype of people of Indian and Asian descent.
Azaria, who had lent his voice to the character since 1990, later moved away from the role in 2020, apologizing and expressing his regret for not having left the role before.
Hank Azaria’s reasons not to continue being APUE’s voice in the Simpsons
In a new interview with leaving the character, the actor explained that his decision “required a deep investigation,” revealing that the voice was based on a performance of Peter Sellers en a movie called The party in which Sellers uses brown painted face.
“What is the difference between Inspector Clouseau, with a slightly silly French voice, or Dr. Strangelove, with a slightly silly German voice, and Hrundi V. Bakshi, with a slightly silly Indian voice?” Azaria asked in the Pablo Torre Finds Out podcast.
And it is a question that they still ask me. People comment: “Why can you make Luigi [ el personaje de Los Simpson ] And that is not offensive? Why can you talk like Cletus and that is not a problem, but you can’t do about APU? TRUE?”.
Honestly, at first I thought: “Let me investigate this, then I will make the voice again and I will say that I understand it, but that I will continue to do it.” And I was very surprised to think: “No, in fact, I think I’m hurting.”
The actor continued to suggest that “he is not a hero” and that “he was dragged to this,” and added that he had to make a “professional public decision.”
“I would say that the main thing was that, when hate crimes against people from southern Asia were perpetrated, they were often called Apu”he said. “It became an insult when they stabbed, shot or stole the dependents of convenience stores, you know? We provoke. “
The actor added: “There are many other stereotypes and things that seriously affect people of color in this country. So, although it is not the most important thing in the world, it is a window to something very important.”
Source: Ambito
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
