Priyanka Chopra has revealed that Apu from The Simpsons has been “the bane of my life” because of the perpetuation of racial stereotypes.
The Indian actress spoke in a current interview about how Kwik-E-Mart proprietor Apu’s “exaggerated” Indian accent led individuals to query why hers wasn’t as pronounced.
Chopra Jonas, who’s married to Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, appeared in an episode of the present the place she and Jonas received married, which she acknowledged was ironic given how the present had impacted her throughout her teenage years rising up within the US. “To be on The Simpsons in my marriage ceremony costume was actually enjoyable and ironic contemplating Apu was the bane of my life once I was rising up,” she informed British Vogue.
Chopra Jonas additionally famous the “irony of me in an Indian costume marrying a white man.”
The character of Apu was beforehand voiced by American actor Hank Azaria. In 2021, he apologised on Dax Shepherd’s Armchair Knowledgeable podcast for his longtime portrayal of Apu whereas additionally acknowledging the present’s participation in “structural racism”. 4 years previous to that, there have been widespread requires Azaria to cease voicing Apu, following Hari Kondabolu’s criticism of the portrayal of the character in his documentary ‘The Downside With Apu’.
In Armchair Knowledgeable, Azaria known as for extra various racial and ethnic illustration in leisure: “If it’s an Indian character or a Latinx character or a Black character, please let’s have that particular person voice the character,” he stated. In January 2020, Azaria confirmed that he would not voice the character, saying: “All we all know there may be I received’t be doing the voice anymore, until there’s someway to transition it or one thing.”
Hank Azaria. CREDIT: Amy Sussman/Getty Photographs
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