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Apu to be dropped from ‘The Simpsons’ due to controversy
The Indian store owner in the long-running “The Simpsons” animated sitcom will soon be no more to avoid controversy due to the character’s inaccurate portrayal of Indian-Americans.
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The Indian store owner in the long-running 'The Simpsons' animated sitcom will soon be no more to avoid controversy due to the character’s inaccurate portrayal of Indian-Americans. (Facebook/Adi Shankar/Inquirer.net/-)
T
he Indian store owner in the long-running The Simpsons animated sitcom will soon be no more to avoid controversy due to the character’s inaccurate portrayal of Indian-Americans.
What has been referred to as the “Apu Problem” had been under the spotlight for sometime. Show producer Adi Shankar attempted to address the issue in April by launching a script contest. Shankar planned to have the winning script be a clever way to subvert, pivot, evolve or write out the character, reports IndieWire.
However, just as Shankar believed he found the “perfect script” by Vishaal Buch, a family doctor in Bethesda, Maryland, higher-ups from Fox decided they couldn’t wait any longer and just unceremoniously dropped the Apu character.
“I got some disheartening news back, that I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether,” said Shankar in an interview with IndieWire.
Read also: 'Simpsons' breaks TV record but faces controversy
Shankar clarified that he got the information from two people who work for The Simpsons and a third one who works directly with creator Matt Groening.
The producer also believed simply dropping Apu without making a big deal out of it would be a mistake, especially for a show popular for its social satire.
If Shankar manages to convince Fox executives to give Apu a chance, fans of The Simpsons would get a new perspective as the small store owner would transform into a thriving businessman in Springfield. The episode would also feature other prominent Indian-Americans to make a point on diversity and individuality the Simpsons way.
This article appeared on the Philippine Daily Inquirer newspaper website, which is a member of Asia News Network and a media partner of The Jakarta Post
