Poll of the Day > Hank Azaria APOLOGIZES as a WHITE GUY for portraying APU NAHASAPEEMAPETILON!!!

(+) Yeah! (+)

The Simpsons Hank Azaria who voiced the loveable character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on the Simpsons has apologized for participating in "structural racism" as the Emmy winner continues to voice other characters on the show including Moe Syzslak and Chief Wiggum.

He's voiced Apu since 1990 when he made his debut until February of last year where he said he no longer will be voicing the rule as the decision was made in part of a broad culutural shift in animation and the industry believed people of colour should be voiced by minority actors

In a conversation with Dax Shepherd and Monica Padam he said he wished he'd committed to exiting the role many ears before he actually did and said "I've had a date with destiny with this thing for 31 years. Part of me feels like i need to go around to every single indian in this country and personally apologize and sometimes i do when it comes up"

He took a moment to apologize to Padman who is indian-american whose community was done a disservice by his racially insensitive caricature of the convenience store owner and said "I know you weren't asking fo rit but it's important. I apologize for my part in creating that and participating that"

He's called for other changes in animation and said "If it's an Indian character or a Latinx charcter or a black character, please let's have that person voice that character. It's more authetnic, they'll bring more of their experience to it and let's not take jobs away from people who don't have enough"

In 1988, Azaria was asked if he could do an indian accent leading to his portray which he modeled the accent of Peter Seller's comedy in 1968 which has been criticized for it use of racial stereotypes and then the use of brownface.

Azaria added "What i'm not realizing of course, is that i can feel that way as a white guy, because i'm not living with the consequences of those things at all"

He credits his thanks to AA where he needed to shut up, listen and learn from the aftermath of criticism

In his perspective, the character was created with good intentions but that doesn't mean there weren't real negative consequences he says he has to be held accountable for

Do you agree with Azaria?

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He was a great character but it's good that Apu will be voiced by an Indian voice actor now. It's just too bad Simpsons has been bad for so long.

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it would be a fun joke to pretend that the new season of the simpsons was good again and see if i could convince anyone to waste their time watching it

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Guys, we need to get a ten year old boy to start voicing Bart instead of a 60 year old woman. It'd be more authentic.

/s

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PunishedOni posted...

it would be a fun joke to pretend that the new season of the simpsons was good again and see if i could convince anyone to waste their time watching it

Just go to 8kun and pretend you're Q. You can easily make this a thing.

I'm Indian, at first I loved the character. Apu definitely has some great moments in the show. Then I grew up and some would say "Thank you, come again" and talked in a foreign accent to me, and post 9/11 was rough. Then I saw Apu was voiced by a white guy, and there were tons of people saying it wasn't a big deal.

I respect Hank for his decision, and really appreciate it. I don't blame him or the writers or my experience or the experience of others, but they seem to understand how their work feed that mindset.

Hank Azarias new brockmire podcast is fuckin hilarious. Or at least the first episode with Charles Barkley was.

also I hate hate hate hate this controversy. If you want to be mad at apu for being a stereotype, go ahead, he is pretty much as bad as long duck dong, but if you are mad that he was voiced by a non Indian person get the fuck over that shit.

IronBornCorps posted...

I'm Indian, at first I loved the character. Apu definitely has some great moments in the show. Then I grew up and some would say "Thank you, come again" and talked in a foreign accent to me, and post 9/11 was rough. Then I saw Apu was voiced by a white guy, and there were tons of people saying it wasn't a big deal.

I respect Hank for his decision, and really appreciate it. I don't blame him or the writers or my experience or the experience of others, but they seem to understand how their work feed that mindset.

Should Indian people only be able to voice Indian characters?

no?

yeah fuckin of course not

MICHALECOLE posted...

Hank Azarias new brockmire podcast is fuckin hilarious. Or at least the first episode with Charles Barkley was.

also I hate hate hate hate this controversy. If you want to be mad at apu for being a stereotype, go ahead, he is pretty much as bad as long duck dong, but if you are mad that he was voiced by a non Indian person get the fuck over that shit.

VINTAGE WHITE MAN!

IronBornCorps posted...

VINTAGE WHITE MAN!

right, great way to make your point, by being racist

IronBornCorps posted...

No, I am a person who thinks its legitimately ridiculous to tell people who are making their art that they need certain people to play certain roles, or else they are racist.

and then to allow all of those exact rules to be broken if the person is not white, is literally the definition of racism.

if I am making a movie or a play or a cartoon or a tv show, and I want a black man to play Abraham Lincoln and a white man to play MLK, I should be allowed to do that. Hamilton is a thing, Samuel l Jackson does the voice for white characters, there is a Korean remake of the movie what women want with an all korean cast

i dont fucking care what color anybody is, I want the person making the thing to have the freedom to cast whoever they want for whatever role they want

MICHALECOLE posted...

Hank Azarias new brockmire podcast is fuckin hilarious. Or at least the first episode with Charles Barkley was.

also I hate hate hate hate this controversy. If you want to be mad at apu for being a stereotype, go ahead, he is pretty much as bad as long duck dong, but if you are mad that he was voiced by a non Indian person get the fuck over that shit.

idk bro you seem a little on the mad side of things lmfao

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MICHALECOLE posted...

No, I am a person who thinks its legitimately ridiculous to tell people who are making their art that they need certain people to play certain roles, or else they are racist.

and then to allow all of those exact rules to be broken if the person is not white, is literally the definition of racism.

if I am making a movie or a play or a cartoon or a tv show, and I want a black man to play Abraham Lincoln and a white man to play MLK, I should be allowed to do that. Hamilton is a thing, Samuel l Jackson does the voice for white characters, there is a Korean remake of the movie what women want with an all korean cast

i dont fucking care what color anybody is, I want the person making the thing to have the freedom to cast whoever they want for whatever role they want

people on both sides of this opinion can talk about this a little more calmly than you

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ReturnOfFa posted...

idk bro you seem a little on the mad side of things lmfao

I am mad that the meaning of racism is diminished by calling everything racist. I am mad that people who are not racist are getting called racist for things that are not racist.

I believe in white privilege. I believe in male privilege. If you are white, you have it easier. If you are a man, you have it easier.

but I also believe that art is art and it shouldnt be bound by this ridiculous things like a gay character has to be played by a gay actor or an Indian character has to be voiced by an Indian person. These are not things done out of hate, its a matter of artistic integrity.

No, this shit is stupid

It's acting, and voice acting not even regular acting where what you look like compared to the character portrayed matters.

He was fine as Apu, and Apu was fine as a character. Actually one of the more positively portrayed, intelligent, and nice major characters in a show full of loud obnoxious ass holes and idiots for comedic purposes.

Full Throttle posted...

He's voiced Apu since 1990 when he made his debut until February of last year where he said he no longer will be voicing the rule as the decision was made in part of a broad culutural shift in animation and the industry believed people of colour should be voiced by minority actors

Not the specific nationality or ethnicity, just "of color"? Like, is a Japanese actor allowed to portray a Chinese character b/c it's "close enough"? That's totally not racist, right?

He's called for other changes in animation and said "If it's an Indian character or a Latinx charcter or a black character, please let's have that person voice that character. It's more authetnic, they'll bring more of their experience to it and let's not take jobs away from people who don't have enough"

So, only white people will be allowed to portray white characters from now on too, right?

He credits his thanks to AA where he needed to shut up, listen and learn from the aftermath of criticism

Alcoholics Anonymous? The cult that convinces people they have no agency over their own choices ("powerless") and need to be controlled into acting responsibly?

I get SO FREAKING UPSET I can't even make it more clear how fucking upset upset upset I am about how OTHER PEOPLE feel about something, it's SO UPSETTING in fact that I think MY EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS OBVIOUSLY INVALIDATE ANY POINT OF VIEW THEY COULD POSSIBLY HAVE.

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ReturnOfFa posted...

people on both sides of this opinion can talk about this a little more calmly than you

More calmly? Because I say fuck? I dont insult people when I argue, I state my opinion. I am never looking to hurt anybody, I am just debating my position that I think is right.

if this is too intense for you then I dont know what to tell you

ReturnOfFa posted...

I get SO FREAKING UPSET I can't even make it more clear how fucking upset upset upset I am about how OTHER PEOPLE feel about something, it's SO UPSETTING in fact that I think MY EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS OBVIOUSLY INVALIDATE ANY POINT OF VIEW THEY COULD POSSIBLY HAVE.

Its funny because the only people who have talked in all caps is you and the other guy

and you have not even tried at all to make a point or try to sway me in any way, all you have done is called me mad and said I need to calm down, so what are you actually contributing?

MICHALECOLE posted...

I am mad that the meaning of racism is diminished by calling everything racist. I am mad that people who are not racist are getting called racist for things that are not racist.

I believe in white privilege. I believe in male privilege. If you are white, you have it easier. If you are a man, you have it easier.

but I also believe that art is art and it shouldnt be bound by this ridiculous things like a gay character has to be played by a gay actor or an Indian character has to be voiced by an Indian person. These are not things done out of hate, its a matter of artistic integrity.

Not EVERYONE is screaming RACISM!!! unless you want to focus on Twitter-takes and watching the news. It's a nuanced situation that doesn't really hold much similarity to the comparisons you made - they could go either way and I wouldn't REALLY care, but I'm ALLOWED to have a point of view that Apu being voiced by an Indian guy is cool without pointing fingers and calling people racist. You don't need to take a big mondo-dump of negativity fueled by you slurping up the media dialogue surrounding a cast change on an old cartoon.

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MICHALECOLE posted...

Its funny because the only people who have talked in all caps is you and the other guy

and you have not even tried at all to make a point or try to sway me in any way, all you have done is called me mad and said I need to calm down, so what are you actually contributing?

I was imitating you.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm0ppPi_6UI

MICHALECOLE posted...

More calmly? Because I say fuck? I dont insult people when I argue, I state my opinion. I am never looking to hurt anybody, I am just debating my position that I think is right.

if this is too intense for you then I dont know what to tell you

I just think anyone saying they 'hate hate hate hate' something...is not making any good points. All good with keeping the fucking intensity up :)!

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ReturnOfFa posted...

I was imitating you.

But I didnt do any of the things you did

IronBornCorps posted...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pm0ppPi_6UI

So is this your rebuttal? To say well youre white and then post a trash video?

streamofthesky posted...

Alcoholics Anonymous? The cult that convinces people they have no agency over their own choices ("powerless") and need to be controlled into acting responsibly?

god, i hate how cults are always trying to teach people to take responsibility for their actions and think about how they affect others

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ReturnOfFa posted...

I just think anyone saying they 'hate hate hate hate' something...is not making any good points. All good with keeping the fucking intensity up :)!

So you saw the words hate hate hate hate and immediately said oh okay nothing else written matters my mind has been made up by reading that one word four times

Yep

You aren't entitled my energy to sway or educate you. If you really gave a shit you would do it yourself.

IronBornCorps posted...

Yep

You aren't entitled my energy to sway or educate you. If you really gave a shit you would do it yourself.

I do really give a shit, I have listed the reasons why I give a shit.

here, let me just ask you a couple questions.

can an Indian person do the voice for a white animated character?
can a white person do the voice for an Indian animated character?

yay hypotheticals with leading answers.

In the US lets pretend an Indian actor has the same opportunities a white actor does. A white man portraying one of the most notable Indian characters in the West for a long time is not the same as say casting Starlord as an Indian person in the MCU. White guys still have tons of characters in the MCU.

so yeah, let's just give you the answers you want and ignore systemic issues like what are the chances a Western studio casts an Indian voice actor to play a white character.

Okay fine can an Indian actor portray a black man

Can a straight man portray a gay man

PunishedOni posted...

god, i hate how cults are always trying to teach people to take responsibility for their actions and think about how they affect others

That's not what AA does, though. first step is to "admit" you're powerless to resist alcohol, and then to beg god to show you the way.
That's not taking responsibility, there's no personal accountability there.
It's a dangerous mindset to have.

I already saw your no, bro

I say no to both, but again it's more complicated then that. A lot of Indian people are already dark, and it's not exactly brown face. This shared experience can bring more authenticity than that of a light skinned counterpart.

calling me bro just makes you look more like a fool.

ibf "I use bro for everyone"

IronBornCorps posted...

I say no to both, but again it's more complicated then that. A lot of Indian people are already dark, and it's not exactly brown face. This shared experience can bring more authenticity than that of a light skinned counterpart.

You really dont see how your opinion that a role, in somebodys art, must adhere to a rule of who can play what, based on literally the color of their skin, is the definition of racism?

IronBornCorps posted...

calling me bro just makes you look more like a fool.

what in the fuck does this even mean?

and on top of that, why do you think its okay to constantly insult me the entire time we have this discussion?

Are you an artist or creator who is being forced to modify your work or being silenced?

no?

Then maybe stfu and listen to your fellow white man Hank Azaria has to say and what he learned from the experience.

All this means is that another voice actor is gonna get a job on the simpsons so that is great

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IronBornCorps posted...

Are you an artist or creator who is being forced to modify your work and being silenced?

no?

Then maybe stfu and listen to your fellow white man Hank Azaria has to say and what he learned from the experience.

Gotcha.

There was no controversy.. people voice characters outside the their ethnicity all the time, and Simpsons characters are all walking stereotypes. If you get upset about one, might as well get upset about all of them.

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yeah michael is pretty clearly winning this argument, considering the people who are trying to argue with him haven't actually presented any rebuttals to him and instead resorted to ad hominem.

and also, all the points he made are valid and right.

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Im not claiming reverse racism. I dont think that hank azaria not being apu is racist against white people

I am saying that from day one the character was a racist stereotype, the fact that somebody of a different race doing the voice for the character was not the problem with the character.

and you literally just said Then maybe stfu and listen to your fellow white man Hank Azaria has to say and what he learned from the experience.

do you not strive for equality? Why do you think its okay to put anybody down regarding their race?

i am not oppressed. I am not claiming to be oppressed. I know how lucky I am. But I do believe in artistic freedom, and when I watch Hamilton I have zero problem with it, and if it was a movie about civil rights and every character was played by Asian people I wouldnt have any problem with that either.

oh no this actor isn't the right ethnicity for their character!!!!!!!!!!!!1

it doesn't matter. it straight up does not matter.

it matters even less, somehow, when it's a voice actor, who is only providing a voice to an animated character.

this is like getting mad that the actor playing superman isn't actually an alien with super powers that is energized from the sun.

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what about when black dudes do white accents, ain't that weiiiiiiiiiiird

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Then go create an all Asian production of Hamilton and tell me how that goes.

Also please, tell the only openly Indian person in this topic, who actually deals with things like racism, what equality looks like.

white man

Lokarin posted...

what about when black dudes do white accents, ain't that weiiiiiiiiiiird

Dave.. Im gonna race him.
Im sorry I.. I didnt know I couldnt do that.

IronBornCorps posted...

Then go create an all Asian production of Hamilton and tell me how that goes.

Also please, tell the only openly Indian person in this topic, who actually deals with things like racism, what equality looks like.

white man

When you say openly Indian, do you think that there are people who are Indian but are like still in the closet about it?

IronBornCorps posted...

Then go create an all Asian production of Hamilton and tell me how that goes.

well

https://nextshark.com/meet-asian-stars-playing-george-washington-leads-hamilton/

are you going to tell all those people that they're racist pieces of shit?

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MICHALECOLE posted...

When you say openly Indian, do you think that there are people who are Indian but are like still in the closet about it?

I'm referring to other posters whom may also be South Asian but you knew that

Joe_Biden posted...

well

https://nextshark.com/meet-asian-stars-playing-george-washington-leads-hamilton/

are you going to tell all those people that they're racist pieces of shit?

I legit didn't know how it would go.

Are you guys about to run train on me?