From the earliest days of The Simpsons, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and the Quikie Mart have been part of the foundation of Springfield. However, when a show airs for as long as the Simpsons have, the world changes around it and the voice that Hank Azaria brought to Apu eventually was deemed socially unacceptable. This was partially due to the attention brought to it by the documentary, The Problem with Apu, and partially because it was, even if not intended to be, kinda racist.
If you’ve watched the Simpsons at all in the last year or so, you’ve noticed that Apu is no longer a fixture on the show. We’re not even sure he’s appeared this season at all. At yesterday’s TCA for Azaria’s excellent comedy series, Brockmire, he was asked about the character and he explained that he will no longer be voicing the quickie mart owner on the show. Here’s what he told the audience.
“All we know there is I won’t be doing the voice anymore, unless there’s someway to transition it or something. What they’re going to do with the character is their call. It’s up to [Al Jean and Matt Groening] and they haven’t sorted it out yet. All we’ve agreed on is I won’t do the voice anymore. We all made the decision together. We all agreed on it. We all feel like it’s the right thing and good about it.”