It looks like one of The Simpsons‘ most beloved characters, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, may have been written out of the show following a documentary released last year.
The Problem with Apu examined whether the character is an offensive stereotype, and also looked at the way that the character, as one of the most famous South Asian characters on TV, has affected the way that Indian people have been treated in real life.
Following the release of the documentary, people called for the show to hire more diverse writers, and/or replace white actor Hank Azaria as the voice of the character, who himself has said that he’s willing to “step aside” from the role.
Adi Shankar, a well-known producer, even launched a spec script contest to pass onto the makers of the show, but he has now stated that he believes that another decision has been taken: axing the character entirely.
“I got some disheartening news back that I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether,” he told IndieWire.
“They aren’t going to make a big deal out of it, or anything like that, but they’ll drop him altogether just to avoid the controversy.”
Shankar went on to call the news about the show’s apparent decision to drop the character as a “massive step sideways”, adding: “After having read all these wonderful scripts, I feel like sidestepping this issue doesn’t solve it when the whole purpose of art, I would argue, is to bring us together.”
Fox hasn’t officially confirmed that this is the case, but a Fox representative has responded to a request for comment on the reports by saying that Apu did appear in an episode that aired this month, in a single wide shot featuring lots of different characters.
The majority of fans, including the documentary creator Hari Kondabolu, disagreed with axing the character, stating that it was the worst case scenario.
The Simpsons airs on Fox in the US, and Sky One and Channel 4 in the UK.
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