Popular characters in The Simpsons like Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, Dr. Hibbert and Carl Carlson will no longer be voiced by white actors, the producers announced Friday.
“Going forward, The Simpsons There will no longer be white actors voicing non-white characters, “the show confirmed to BuzzFeed News.
The decision comes five months after actor Hank Azaria announced that he would no longer be voicing Apu, a recurring character whose stereotypical image and accent had drawn criticism for years.
Apu, an employee at the Kwik-E-Mart convenience store, had not appeared on the show for months, but it was still unclear whether Fox would return with the character with another actor to provide the voice.
On Friday, the show, which has been on the air for more than 30 years, announced that it would take broader measures in the way its other non-white characters express themselves.
Azaria, for example, also voiced Carl Carlson, a black character who works at the power plant with his inseparable best friend, Lenny Leonard, and Homer Simpson.
Harry Shearer also voiced non-white characters on the show like Dr. Hibbert and Sanjay Nahasapeemapetilon, Apu’s brother.
The news of the cast changes came shortly after Mike Henry announced that he will no longer give voice to Cleveland Brown, a black man. Family man character, saying, “people of color should play characters of color.” On Wednesday, Kristen Bell also announced that she would not be playing a biracial character in the series. Central Park and that the role would be recast, and Jenny Slate said she would no longer be voicing a black character on the Netflix series. Big Mouth.
Producers of The Simpsons For years, they have rejected efforts to change the show’s characters, many of whom have been portrayed with highly stereotypical personalities. But Apu, whose character speaks accented English and is in a groomed family with eight children, had been very troublesome for years.
Comedian Hari Kondabolu raised these issues in his documentary. The problem with Apu, where he argued that the adorable but troubled character had helped drive the stereotype of South Asians.
The show ended up addressing the controversy during one of its episodes, but at the time it rejected any notion of change.
“Something that started decades ago and was applauded and harmless is now politically incorrect,” says Lisa Simpson in one episode as her mother, Marge, reads a children’s book that has been updated to remove stereotypical references.
Lisa then looks at a framed photo of Apu on her nightstand.
“Some things will be covered at a later date,” says Marge.
“In any case,” replies Lisa.
