When it comes to places that enable racism, work environment, including the set of TV shows, is among the places where black community experience unfair treatment or being the subject of stereotypes.
- Aug 2, 2020
AceShowbiz - "The Simpsons" came under fire for its portrayal of one of its characters, Indian-American owner of Springfield's Kwik-E-Mart convenience store Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. As the character is depicted as someone with exotic curled "R"s and the nasally twang, it didn't sit well with comedian Hari Kondabolu who later in 2017 made a short documentary called "The Problem with Apu", criticizing white actor Hank Azaria who voiced the character.
"Apu was an emotionally developed character, much more so than other Simpsons characters, he cared about his family and worked tirelessly to support them. He was also allowed to be zany and kooky – he wasn't just there in the background, he had his own plot lines, he was neurotic, unique, not just a prop for diversity," Kondabolu said at the time.
It was once rumored that "The Simpsons" would remove Apu altogether from the show, though it was denied by EP Al Jean. Meanwhile, Azaria's response to the criticism didn't come until this January when he announced that he stepped down from his role as Apu. "We all made the decision together... We all agreed on it. We all feel like it's the right thing and good about it," he said of the decision.
