Film producer Adi Shankar has confirmed that The Simpsons will axe Apu Nahasapeemapetilon following recent controversy. Calls for his removal emerged from Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary, The Problem With Apu, which explained how the beloved character had popularised and exacerbated harmful stereotypes of Indians and South Asians, and encouraged racism in the US. This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. The show previously came under-fire for how it addressed the issue. In an episode from the 29th season, Lisa alluded to the controversy by saying, “Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” before the camera pans to a photo of Apu. Needless to say it didn't go down well, and calls for cancelation raged on Twitter. Now, according to Shankar, it looks like The Simpsons will bow to the backlash and drop the Kwik-E-Mart owner completely. “I got some disheartening news back, that I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether,” quoted Shankar to 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.” Fox/Contributor Getty Images He went on to slam the show for the decision, saying: “If you are a show about cultural commentary and you are too afraid to comment on the culture, especially when it’s a component of the culture you had a hand in creating, then you are a show about cowardice. “It’s not a step forward, or step backwards, it’s just a massive step sideways. 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.” This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io<doc-sep>It has been claimed the character will be quietly axed (Picture: Gracie Films) This weekend it was claimed Apu Nahasapeemapetilon would be axed from The Simpsons and it’s divided many over whether it was the right move for the long-running Fox show to make. His time has seemingly come to an end following the massive backlash that came about after the character on the show, which debuted in 1989, was the subject of documentary The Problem With Apu, which staked the claim that elements of the Apu’s character bolstered racial stereotypes – not aided by the fact he was voiced by a white actor, Hank Azaria. ‘Of course he’s funny, but that doesn’t mean this representation is accurate or right or righteous,’ comedian and creator Hari Kondabolu told the BBC at the time. ‘It gets to the insidiousness of racism… because you don’t even notice it when it’s right in front of you. It becomes so normal that you don’t even think about it. Apu is once again the centre of Simpsons chatter (Picture: Gracie Films) ‘It seeps into our language to the point we don’t even question it because it seems like it’s just been that way forever’. Hari told Totally Biased that Apu is ‘a white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father’, with elements of the character being described as problematic, such as his arranged marriage, many children and that he is defined by being the owner of a convenience store. While Simpsons creator Matt Groening defended the character – after Azaria said the backlash was ‘a lot to digest’ – now producer Adi Shankar has alleged Apu is being axed altogether due to the melee. Shankar was crowdsourcing a script to solve ‘the problem with Apu’ and hoped Fox would produce it as a Simpsons episode – however, he was reportedly told the character would be eliminated from the show in his entirety. Simpsons’ Apu could be killed off after documentary (Picture: Gracie Films) He told IndieWire: ‘I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether. 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 a slight nod to the whole palaver, at the time the show responded with the April 2018 episode No Good Read Goes Unpunished, in which Lisa said to camera: ‘Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?’ before looking at a picture of Apu. Marge said: ‘Some things will be dealt with at a later date’, with Lisa replying: ‘If at all.’ This treatment of the genuine offense caused by the character angered viewers even more who responded to the scene largely with disdain – but Groening didn’t seem to be backing down himself when he addressed the controversy. Matt previously stood by Apu (Picture: Shutterstock) Speaking to the New York Times, the 64-year-old said: ‘Well, I love Apu. I love the character, and it makes me feel bad that it makes other people feel bad. ‘But on the other hand, it’s tainted now — the conversation, there’s no nuance to the conversation now. It seems very, very clunky. I love the character. I love the show.’ Even though the show’s attempt to address the argument in any meaningful way that satisfied the wishes of the show’s loyal fans, and the communities who rightly took issue with the portrayal, South Park managed to do so in their own satirical way. Trolling its rival earlier this month, the show aired episode The Problem With A Poo, a reference to the documentary, which revolved around Mr Hankey the Christmas Poo being called out for offensive tweets. The end of the episode sees Mr Hankey expelled from South Park and exiled to a land ‘that accepts racist, awful beings like him,’ where people ‘don’t care about bigotry and hate’ as he’s seen being driven into Springfield. Then their episode ended with a #CancelTheSimpsons hashtag, for one last blow to their competition. Now the news has broken Apu will be no more, viewers aren’t sure axing the character was the best idea. On Sunday morning, social media was awash with disappointed fans who felt the showrunners were copping out and backing away from properly addressing the issue. Some felt more could be done without removing the character and ignoring the chance to create change and speak for minority cultures in the wider pop culture land. However, others addressed changing the character’s traits is akin to killing him off anyway. If anything, though, the voice of Apu, Azaria, is keen for change after he accepted his character had hurt and offended. He addressed the melee at the time, saying he was prepared to walk away from the character to allow him to change and evolve with the times. ‘The idea that anyone young or old, past or present, being bullied based on Apu really makes me sad,’ he told Stephen Colbert. ‘It certainly was not my intention. I wanted to bring joy and laughter to people.’ While how the show plans to kill off one of its longest running characters remains to be seen (will we see something akin to the death of Maude Flanders, at the hands of a t-shirt cannon?) the axing of Apu has created ripples in the world of The Simpsons that is bound to create lessons and affect the show’s references to race for the remainder of its time on screen. Or at least one might hope it will. Got a showbiz story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page - we'd love to hear from you. MORE : 13 Reasons Why star Katherine Langford joins cast of Avengers 4 – but who is she playing? MORE : 11 times The Simpsons ‘predicted’ the future as Canada’s marijuana legalisation hinted at 13 years ago<doc-sep>AFTER months of controversy surrounding the racial treatment of beloved The Simpsons character Apu, one of the show’s producers has revealed the acharacter will be axed. “I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether,” producer Adi Shankar has told IndiWire. “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 said. The popular show came under fire over its portrayal of convenience store Kwik-owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, who first appeared on the show in 1990. The criticism of Apu’s character first surfaced in November 2017 with the release ofcomedian Hari Kondabolu’s documentary The Problem With Apu. Kondabolu said the character and his thick Indian accent was based on hurtful stereotypes. “Everything with Apu is like this running joke,” Kondabolu told the New York Times. “And the running joke is that he’s Indian.” Earlier this year, The Simpsons addressed the racial controversy surrounding the character in a brief scene of an episode that was described as a “slap in the face.” The show producers slipped in a scene with Lisa and Marge Simpson, who is reading an updated version of The Princess in the Garden that was edited to make it acceptable for 2018. At one point, Lisa turns to the camera and says: “Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” Lisa then looks at a picture of Apu with the catchphrase “Don’t have a cow!” written on it. “Some things will be dealt with at a later date,” Marge says. “If at all,” Lisa responds. The episode attempted to bandaid the issue but was met with further controversy. #TheSimpsons completely toothless response to @harikondabolu #TheProblemWithApu about the racist character Apu: "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect... What can you do?" pic.twitter.com/Bj7qE2FXWN — Soham (@sohamberlamps) April 9, 2018 Shankar views the decision to axe Apu as a mistake, saying: “If you are a show about cultural commentary and you are too afraid to comment on the culture, especially when it’s a component of the culture you had a hand in creating, then you are a show about cowardice.” “It’s not a step forward, or step backwards, it’s just a massive step sideways.”<doc-sep>
Fans have sounded off over the decision to ditch Apu (Picture: Gracie Films) Today it’s extremely clear die-hard Simpsons fans aren’t happy with the decision to axe Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, after the long-running show recently faced harsh backlash as to the portrayal of the Kwik-E-Mart owner. Many viewers felt Apu was a racist caricature after the issue hit headlines following Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary The Problem With Apu, in which the comedian interviewed actors and comics of South Asian descent about the portrayal of Indians on the animated series. However, while creator Matt Groening defended the character of Apu at the time, producer Adi Shankar has confirmed that The Simpsons will no longer feature the show stalwart. Apu has been on the show since its inception (Picture: Getty Images) The producer was crowdsourcing a script to solve ‘the problem with Apu’ and hoped Fox would produce it as a Simpsons episode – however, he was reportedly told the character would be eliminated from the show altogether. He told IndieWire: ‘I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether. 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.’ Now the news has hit the airwaves, confused viewers have taken to social media in droves, voicing their concern as to whether this was the right move for bosses to make. One said: ‘Deleting the character completely misses the point of how we need more South Asian representation to combat the fostered stereotypes!’ Another added: ‘He shouldn’t be written out, just ensure that the writers consider his character in an appropriate manner. We’re trying to include other races, not delete them!’ One said: ‘That’s too bad. There were definitely problems with Apu but there were ways to address that within the show and without taking away from the Simpson-ness.’ Even Shanker felt the show was taking the wrong exit in banishing the character. ‘If you are a show about cultural commentary and you are too afraid to comment on the culture, especially when it’s a component of the culture you had a hand in creating, then you are a show about cowardice,’ he told the website. ‘It’s not a step forward, or step backwards, it’s just a massive step sideways. ‘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.’ Some fans felt there was no way to correct his portrayal, though, and if they did change any parts of the character they were still, in effect, killing him off. I've watched every goddamn episode of the Simpsons and I still wouldn't try to tell an Indian person how to feel about Apu, chief. https://t.co/ETUb66YjO0 — gomez addams (@dravenpop) October 28, 2018 One added: ‘This is the biggest ‘joke’ The Simpsons team have ever made. A load of complete nonsense. What about those of us Asians who loved Apu? We recognise that many of us are shopkeepers but are aware that not all of us are. The solution is more varied depictions not less. Regressive.’ Another said: ‘They basically put the writers into a no win situation. They can argue they didn’t want the end of Apu…but if you take away everything that made that character, then…you are by default killing him off.’ Hank Azaria, who voices Apu, had previously said he would be willing to leave the role, as he told Stephen Colbert: ‘I think the most important thing is to listen to Indian people and their experience with it. ‘I really want to see Indian, South Asian writers in the writers room…including how [Apu] is voiced or not voiced. ‘I’m perfectly willing to step aside. It just feels like the right thing to do to me.’ MORE : 13 Reasons Why star Katherine Langford joins cast of Avengers 4 – but who is she playing? MORE : 11 times The Simpsons ‘predicted’ the future as Canada’s marijuana legalisation hinted at 13 years ago