Apu’s days in Springfield are numbered. According to new comments made by producer, Adi Shankar, The Simpsons will remove Apu from the show sometime in the very near future. This major move comes after a long discussion regarding the character’s stereotypical nature, which was recently profiled in the popular documentary film, The Problem with Apu.
That project, led by actor and stand-up comedian Hari Kondabolu, brought the character’s harmful portrayal of South Asians to light and implored The Simpsons‘ creators to modify the iconic character and his role within the series. Now, and after the controversy has reached a boiling point, it seems like showrunners are hoping to forget the dilemma altogether.
Speaking with IndieWire, Shankar let it slip that The Simpsons will axe Apu in a forthcoming episode.“ I got some disheartening news back, that I’ve verified from multiple sources now,” he began. “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.”
In response to the decision, Kondabolu tweeted out a message of disappointment, saying that there are alternatives to make Apu work. You can read that post below for yourself. As of now, no public statement has been made about the matter by either The Simpsons or its network, FOX. In the meantime the show goes on as it would, with another new episode primed for November 4th.
Agreed. There are so many ways to make Apu work without getting rid of him. If true, this sucks. https://t.co/czBDIvaTV0
— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) October 26, 2018
