Hank Azaria on The Simpsons' Apu controversy: 'I'm willing to step aside'

The Simpsons actor Hank Azaria, who provides the voice for Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, has said he would be willing to give up the role and be replaced by an Indian or south Asian actor after calling for more “inclusion” and diversity in the show’s writing room.

He made the comments on Stephen Colbert’s The Late Show, where he called for the creators of The Simpsons to listen to the criticism over Apu, who has been called “a noxious pastiche of south Asian stereotypes”.

Azaria said: “I think the most important thing is to listen to Indian people and their experience with it. Listening to voices means inclusion in the writers’ room. I really want to see Indian, south Asian writers in the writers’ room, genuinely informing whichever direction this character takes.

“I’m perfectly willing to step aside. It just feels like the right thing to do to me.”

The conversation around the Apu character started when Hari Kondabolu – a standup comic from New York – created a documentary called The Problem with Apu, in which he explained how the character was used by children and young people, who would use his catchphrase “Thank you, come again!” to bully south Asian Americans.

Kondabolu told the Guardian in 2017: “There are a billion reasons to love The Simpsons and Apu was one of them. But when you sit in high school, which is, I think for most of us, the lowest point in our lives, you realise [Apu] was a tool for kids to go after you. And this was perfect, right? A caricature with this ridiculous accent that nobody has.”

He said: “I still had the same vulnerabilities, and my parents were accented. I thought: how are they going to view my parents, how are they going to view me?”

The Simpsons addressed the criticism during an episode in early April. Lisa Simpson referenced the controversy in a scene which ended with a picture of Apu with the phrase “don’t have a cow” on it.

Kondabolu was among the first to respond, and criticised the scene as dismissive and “sad”. He tweeted: “Wow. ‘Politically incorrect?’ That’s the takeaway from my movie and the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad.”

Azaria had previously said the fact that Apu had caused harm and suffering was “disturbing” and “distressing” to him.

“The idea that anybody was marginalised based on it, or had a hard time, was very upsetting to me personally and professionally,” he added.

Last week, Al Jean, the executive producer of The Simpsons, tweeted that he would “try to find an answer” to the controversy. “I truly appreciate all responses pro and con,” he wrote. “[I] will continue to try to find an answer that is popular [and] more important right.”