'The Simpsons' Slammed For 'Sad' Response To Apu Controversy
Critics and viewers are fuming about how writers dealt with the discussion around the character of Apu.
The Simpsons has been hit with overwhelmingly negative feedback for the way in which it has responded to the controversy surrounding the character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.
US comic, Hari Kondabolu released a documentary last year, The Problem With Apu, suggesting that Apu portrays negative stereotypes about people of Indian and South Asian heritage and actor and voice of Apu, Hank Azaria, said in December, "The documentary made some really interesting points and gave us a lot to think about, and we really are".
However in a new episode, No Good Read Goes Unpunished, The Simpsons writers touched on the discussion in a scene where Marge reads The Princess In The Garden to Lisa and attempts to make it inoffensive.
In the scene, Lisa faces the camera and says, "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. She then looks over to a framed picture of Apu and says, "What can you do?"
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Marge responds by saying, "Some things will be dealt with at a later date," to which Lisa replies "If at all."
The scene was widely slammed by viewers, including Kondabolu who tweeted, "In The Problem with Apu I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress".
Watch the clip below.
#TheSimpsons completely toothless response to @harikondabolu #TheProblemWithApu about the racist character Apu:
— Soham (@soham_burger) April 9, 2018
"Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect... What can you do?" pic.twitter.com/Bj7qE2FXWN
Wow. “Politically Incorrect?” That’s the takeaway from my movie & the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad. https://t.co/lYFH5LguEJ
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018
In “The Problem with Apu,” I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018
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