Is âThe Simpsonsâ about to say âThank you, donât come againâ to one of its most enduring characters?
Apu, the Indian-American convenience store owner character on the long-running animated sitcom, has been criticized for reinforcing negative stereotypes of Indian culture.
The debate has even been the subject of a documentary, âThe Problem With Apuâ by comedian Hari Kondabolu.
Hank Azaria, who voices Apu, has said he hopes the showâs producers decide to eliminate the character, calling it âthe right thing to do.â
As time moved on with no official word about Apuâs status on the show, film producer Adi Shankar made headlines for launching a crowdfunding campaign to developed a script that would include a smart, sensible and funny way to remove the character from the show.
Shankar that he had found the âperfect scriptâ but been told that the showâs producers would prefer to kick Apu off the show without any fanfare.
âThey arenât going to make a big deal out of it, or anything like that, but theyâll drop him altogether just to avoid the controversy,â he told IndieWire.
Al Jean, who has been the head creative voice on âThe Simpsonsâ for the past 20 of its 30 seasons, Sunday evening.
âI wish [Shankar] the very best but he does not speak for our show,â Jean said.
Jean did not comment on Apuâs future on the show.