Apu from ‘The Simpsons’ resurrected after nearly a decade of silence

Apu Nahasapeemapetilon made a speaking return to "The Simpsons" during Sunday's "Treehouse of Horror" episode, ending nearly a decade of silence for the Kwik-E-Mart operator. The character appeared alongside his wife, Manjula, in a substantial plotline voiced by Indian American actors Sunil Malhotra and Janina Gavankar, replacing Hank Azaria, a white actor who originated the role.

The character's absence followed the 2017 documentary "The Problem With Apu" by comedian Hari Kondabolu, which examined how the portrayal affected South Asian Americans. Interviewees including Kal Penn, Utkarsh Ambudkar and Hasan Minhaj described being bullied and called "Apu" as an insult. Sociologist Bhoomi Thakore noted Apu represented a "forever foreigner" stereotype as the sole Indian character many viewers knew when he debuted in 1990.

Azaria stepped away from the role after the documentary, and in 2020 announced he would not return because "it just didn't feel right." That year, "The Simpsons" also pledged to stop casting white actors as characters of color, subsequently recasting Carl Carlson and Dr. Julius Hibbert with Black actors. A 2018 episode addressing the controversy through Lisa Simpson was criticized as insufficient.

Kondabolu praised the show's "clever solution" of hiring South Asian voice actors and said he remains proud of the public conversation his documentary started, adding he hopes the change stops the hate mail he has received over the past decade. Malhotra and Gavankar described the return as a "reclamation" and "homecoming" in a joint Instagram post Sunday.

Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal