‘The Simpsons’ Defends Itself Against Apu Stereotype Accusations

Comedian Hari Kondabolu has been voicing his disappointment in the harmful stereotypes he sees within The Simpsons’ character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon for over a half-decade, and on Sunday night the writers of the show finally gave a response to those accusations in the episode “No Good Read Goes Unpunished.” Kondabolu was understandably not pleased by this scene between Marge and Lisa in which they use a fictional storybook character as a way to defend themselves against the idea that Apu is an offensive character, with Lisa saying “Something that started decades ago and was applauded as inoffensive is now politically incorrect,” before cutting to a bedside picture of Apu that is signed “Don’t have a cow.”

#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 (@soham_burger) April 9, 2018

Kondabolu responded to the episode with several tweets afterwards, expressing his disappointment in the show’s decision to refer to the topic of Apu and stereotypes as “politically incorrect.”

Wow. “Politically Incorrect?” That’s the takeaway from my movie & the discussion it sparked? Man, I really loved this show. This is sad. https://t.co/lYFH5LguEJ

— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018

In “The Problem with Apu,” I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.

— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018

Kondabolu ended it with a jab back at The Simpsons and “being seen as relevant again.”

TO THE JOURNALISTS WHO HAVE ASKED ME FOR A PUBLIC STATEMENT ABOUT LAST NIGHT’S SIMPSONS EPISODE, I JUST WANT SAY: “Congratulations to the Simpsons for being talked about & being seen as relevant again.”

— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018

Kondabolu first addressed his issues with the Apu character on Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell in 2012, then again in the documentary The Problem with Apu, which was released on truTV in 2017. Hank Azaria, who does the voice of Apu, responded in December that it was “a lot to digest,” telling a TMZ reporter that he and others at The Simpsons were really “thinking about” Kondabolu’s documentary on the subject. Now it appears that they aren’t just thinking about it, they’re addressing it, and they don’t seem to share Kondabolu’s views on the character of Apu — though they did end by saying that “some things will be dealt with at a later date.”

The Apu-Kondabolu saga does not appear to be over.