“Transferring forward, The Simpsons will no lengthier have white actors voice non-white figures,” Fox spokesman Les Eisner reported in a statement Friday.
More than the 3 a long time since the animated sitcom commenced, it has used White actors to play a selection of non-White characters which includes Harry Shearer as Dr. Julius Hibbert and Hank Azaria as Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.
In January, Azaria declared he would end voicing Apu following 30 decades actively playing the thickly accented Indian-American character. Azaria is not South Asian.
The decision to remove Azaria from voicing Apu was mutual, the actor stated, according to /Film. “We all agreed on it,” he explained. “We all experience like it truly is the correct thing and great about it.”
“My documentary ‘The Dilemma with Apu’ was not created to get rid of a dated cartoon character, but to talk about race, representation & my neighborhood (which I enjoy incredibly a great deal),” Kondabolu wrote. “It was also about how you can really like something (like the Simpsons) & nevertheless be vital about facets of it (Apu).”
In his doc, Kondabolu interviewed stars of South Asian descent, like Aziz Ansari and Kal Penn, to discuss how characterizations like Apu can be seen as racism.
In the episode, the younger Lisa Simpson reported, “One thing that started off decades back and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” Lisa then glanced at a framed photograph of Apu inscribed with the message, “Really don’t have a cow.”
“The idea that any person — young or old, previous or current — was bullied or teased centered on the character of Apu, it just truly would make me unfortunate,” reported Azaria, who voices other people on the demonstrate.
“It was definitely not my intention,” he stated. “I wanted to distribute laughter and joy with this character, and the notion that it really is brought soreness and struggling in any way, that it was made use of to marginalize men and women, it really is upsetting.”
CNN’s Frank Pallotta, Brian Lowry and Leah Asmelash, contributed to this posting.
