Priyanka Chopra has revealed that Apu from The Simpsons has been a supply of frustration for her because of the perpetuation of racial stereotypes.
The Indian actor said in a latest interview that Apu’s “exaggerated” Indian accent would lead individuals to query why she didn’t converse like him. Chopra Jonas, who’s married to Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, had a cameo in an episode of the present the place the pair bought married. She discovered the expertise ironic because the present impacted her teenage years rising up in the USA.
Chopra Jonas shared, “To be on The Simpsons in my wedding ceremony costume was actually enjoyable and ironic contemplating Apu was the bane of my life after I was rising up.” She mirrored on a few of her key Instagram images whereas talking with British Vogue.
She went on to say, “All people stored asking why don’t I converse like Apu [Nahasapeemapetilon], why my accent wasn’t like Apu?” She acknowledged that Apu had a really exaggerated Indian accent, and that her cameo on the present was “bittersweet and humorous” since The Simpsons is an iconic a part of many individuals’s childhoods.
Chopra Jonas additionally referenced the “irony of me in an Indian costume marrying a white man.”
The character of Apu was voiced by American actor Hank Azaria. Later, in 2021, he apologized on Dax Shepherd’s Armchair Professional podcast for his longtime portrayal of Apu whereas acknowledging the present’s participation in “structural racism.” 4 years earlier than, following Hari Kondabolu’s criticism of the portrayal of the character in his documentary The Downside With Apu, there have been widespread requires Azaria to cease voicing Apu.
Within the Armchair Professional interview, Azaria advocated for extra various racial and ethnic illustration in leisure. He mentioned, “If it’s an Indian character or a Latinx character or a Black character, please let’s have that individual voice the character. It’s extra genuine, they’ll deliver their expertise to it, and let’s not take jobs away from individuals who don’t have sufficient.”
In January 2020, Azaria confirmed that he would now not voice the character, stating: “All we all know there’s 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
Originally posted 2023-05-07 19:49:08.