Over five years since The Problem with Apu was released, Hari Kondabolu and Apu voice actor Hank Azaria have squashed their beef in a public conversation.
The two comedians spoke on NPR's Code Switch podcast, reminiscing on the 2017 documentary — which criticizes The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon for reinforcing Indian stereotypes — and the reaction it garnered at the time. Though Azaria has since stopped voicing Apu, he refused to appear in Kondabolu's film.
"I was afraid," Azaria said in conversation with Kondabolu. "You're a comedian. And some of your stuff is 'gotcha.' It has bite to it, as well it should. It's hilarious and it makes good points. But being on the other end of that really scared me. At the time, I didn't feel safe to have the conversation privately, let alone we're going to record it."
In response, Kondabolu said, "The documentary is about how I hate being associated with this stereotype and now I'm forever associated with it. Representation has weight, but it's not necessarily the act of violence in itself. But the person who was making [Apu] wanted a very specific effect out of the images and words that they used."
At one point in the conversation, Azaria said he's "grateful" for Kondabolu "dragging and pushing" him into this conversation. Kondabolu expressed his appreciation for Azaria's words: "To hear that publicly is a very big deal to me."
The Simpsons eventually recast all of its racialized characters voiced by white people shortly after Azaria expressed regret for playing the role, though not before lazily referencing The Problem with Apu in an episode. As recently as 2021, creator Matt Groening has said he still doesn't "have a problem" with white actors voicing non-white characters.
Listen to the entire episode of Code Switch below.
The two comedians spoke on NPR's Code Switch podcast, reminiscing on the 2017 documentary — which criticizes The Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon for reinforcing Indian stereotypes — and the reaction it garnered at the time. Though Azaria has since stopped voicing Apu, he refused to appear in Kondabolu's film.
"I was afraid," Azaria said in conversation with Kondabolu. "You're a comedian. And some of your stuff is 'gotcha.' It has bite to it, as well it should. It's hilarious and it makes good points. But being on the other end of that really scared me. At the time, I didn't feel safe to have the conversation privately, let alone we're going to record it."
In response, Kondabolu said, "The documentary is about how I hate being associated with this stereotype and now I'm forever associated with it. Representation has weight, but it's not necessarily the act of violence in itself. But the person who was making [Apu] wanted a very specific effect out of the images and words that they used."
At one point in the conversation, Azaria said he's "grateful" for Kondabolu "dragging and pushing" him into this conversation. Kondabolu expressed his appreciation for Azaria's words: "To hear that publicly is a very big deal to me."
The Simpsons eventually recast all of its racialized characters voiced by white people shortly after Azaria expressed regret for playing the role, though not before lazily referencing The Problem with Apu in an episode. As recently as 2021, creator Matt Groening has said he still doesn't "have a problem" with white actors voicing non-white characters.
Listen to the entire episode of Code Switch below.
