Was it wrong to remove Apu in the first place?
October 21, 2026
"When my agent called me about a 'Simpsons' audition, I knew exactly what role it was for, and the idea actually made my stomach sink."
Said Sunil Malhotra, quoted in "Apu Returns to ‘The Simpsons’ With a New Voice Actor/After almost a decade away from Springfield, the character returned to the show, this time voiced by a South Asian actor rather than a white man" (NYT).
If it wasn't wrong, is it right to bring him back? Do you remove the problem if you insert a voice actor of the same ethnicity as the character? If so, what was wrong with the TV version of "Amos 'n' Andy"? It had black actors.
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51 comments:
…comes back in Treehouse of Horrors, no less. I thought Barb might show, too…
…on the show The Simpson family is a quite intense shade of yellow and Asian characters are sometimes a pale yellow and sometimes a pale shade of beige or off white…and when you look quick! at the ethnically correct actor that voices Apu he looks like George Clooney. What does it all mean? I.Don’t.Know….
Critical Diversity Theory
The Simpsons are part of the default liberal culture in America. By default I mean the vast majority. To be part of the cool and accepted crowd, you have to be a lib.
The default culture in the media is to hate Trump. The default culture is to believe in CAGW and support wind and solar energy.
The libs own the media, the law, the academy and big business.
https://x.com/thatgroyper2/status/2112008734691995939
Someone on X said the choice made the new version "sound like a shittier version of what his voice was before."
I see what he did there;)
Amos 'n' Andy had intact black families and an intact culture.
There is quite a bit of hidden, clever anti-leftist riposte buried within the Simpsons Dave. And of course, Matt Groening was smart enough to ensure they couldn't detect it. But it's there.
They folded like a wet paper bag.
That vulgar brown shmuck sounds like Steve Buscemi, a White man. That's racist.
Weren't the radio Amos 'n' Andy white? That was probably the original sin. If there was anything actually wrong with the series, Norman Lear wouldn't have been allowed to make a fortune off Sanford and Son, The Jeffersons, and Good Times.
Isn’t “The Simpsons” on cable? I cut cable over a decade ago. Not missing much. I’m not a pro or college football or basketball fan. Getting those games seems to me the only sensible reason to pay for cable. So, I miss out on all these PC controversies. I mostly watch YouTube and occasionally find something worth watching on Prime. I subscribe to MLB for Cubs’ games. Unfortunately, that doesn’t cover the post season. I sort of miss “The Simpsons,” but not enough to fork over $120/month for cable.
Did you know that the annoying voice of the Jewish character, Mort Goldman, on Family Guy is not voiced by an actual Jewish person? True story. I guess the "new rules" demand this be rectified by recasting with the annoying voice of a real Jew.
How dare we not have authenticity when playing pretend!
Will the simpsons cover Izzat?
Just curious
If they cover "Jugaad" I'll reinstall cable. Now that's cringeworthy!
"I subscribe to MLB for Cubs’ games. Unfortunately, that doesn’t cover the post season."
Unfortunately, you didn't miss much.
I'm sure they are going to do the same for Grounds Keeper Willie.
You shall not culturally appropriate! - bad white man, bad.
But if you're a black women with racist and rage-fueled tendencies playing for the WMBA, you can culturally appropriate long blonde hair.
“When my agent called me about a ‘Simpsons’ audition, I knew exactly what role it was for, and the idea actually made my stomach sink,”
What role did he want? Will he do a fake accent for the role?
If “the rules” were clearly articulated and evenly enforced then there would be no questions like “was it wrong?” The very fact Althouse posed it is a testament to how well leftists disguise the everchanging “rules.”
Because The Simpsons is all about respecting cultural dignity.
Interestingly, Sunil Malhotra IRL does not have an Indian accent. He was just an infant when his parents came to the U.S., and he was raised in the Chicago area, so he has a standard American accent.
Does this make a difference? Should it?
This is, essentially, voice-over acting. It's not as if voice actors are appearing on screen.
The idiotic left forced Taco Bell to remove a beloved Mexican Chihuahua.
I find confounding. - that act alone signifies the left's racism. Mexicans were not offended by that dog. Celebrating cultural differences and joking in fun or cute ways is not racism.
ugh - the left are Karens.
There are no 'rules', there's just The Rule. You will express your displeasure with The Outrage of The Moment until told otherwise.
and never stop clapping first.
Speaking of cultural appropriation, when are they going to stop hiring black people who talk and act exactly like white people? Apparently there are no more white people who drive luxury cars or are doctors in hospital dramas. But at least it's a good thing that there are still plenty of parts for white people as criminals and movie villains.
"I'm sure they are going to do the same for Grounds Keeper Willie."
But with a 30yr old 2nd gen Senegalese lesbian who's Scottish by birth.
Sunil is a pretty good Stand Up comic.
An entry that qualifies for both Woke 1.0 and Woke 2.0. And is a strong contender for the "dumbest thing to be upset about."
Really a shame. In the Simpson's universe, Apu is one of the few characters that is a good person, a man who works hard to provide for his family and is kind and decent.
What was wrong with TV Amos 'n' Andy? It had black actors, it was a sitcom, and it had dopey characters like All in the Family, Married...with Children, and The Dick Vandyke Show, not to mention the Norman Lear stable of black sitcoms.
“Was it wrong to remove Apu in the first place?”
If you have to ask, you don’t get it.
The Simpsons breaks the fourth wall on satire.
"is a good person, a man who works hard to provide for his family and is kind and decent."
His decent jugaad massively enhances his hard working izzat.
Matt was clowning on Indians before it was cool.
I find it hilarious his heart sank because he knew he was being typecast.
My reaction to all of this is cringe. Seriously, do people still give a damn about this nonsense?? obviously, the NYT times does, because white people hate, and Trump hate is Tier one stuff at the circle jerk know as the times.
Rest of us who grew up with funny TV shows that were NOT PC .
It must be exhausting to actually care about this crap. do people have checklists they take with them during the day, and make sure they are behaving and thinking, the correct way. and what is the correct thought structure now. Do I turn to Obama, or the times, or inga? Orwell would be so proud
It's all just mental masturbation for people who are 'smart' and have way to much time to actually care about nonsense , the professional scolds.
Known Unknown said...
I find it hilarious his heart sank because he knew he was being typecast.
10/21/26, 8:50 AM
Me too.
If he were a real comic he'd run with it.
" My heart sank.", I was offended.", They made me a stereotype."
Shut up and make with the jokes, funnyman!
Indians from Asia and the Caribbean are severely handicapped in America because they arrived here after the gold age of American racism. I don't think they were ever subjected to any atrocities. Sometimes people complain in apt. buildings complain about the lingering smell of curry in the halls, but that's about it. They're entitled to bitch about Britain and the Raj but any complaints they have about America are unjustified. They are a people of color and they're not allow to bitch about whites That's so unfair. They don't have equal status with other people of color.
What about star trek? A scortsman (Mr Scott) was played by a Canadian!!! Mr spcok, a space alien was played by an EARTHLING!!!!!?
I love that Rogan and his guest were having a serious conversation about the wrongfulness of removing a character who represented the American Dream and discussed the dignity that the show had actually given that character, and the close captioning identified the character as "a poo."
I just think it's disgusting that not one of the Simpson's voice actors is actually from Springfield.
Simpsons characters have been popular for decades. Eventually AI created "human" characters will be just as popular. And with AI, there will be millions of "actors" so when watching a movie or tv, will be interesting seeing unfamiliar faces. Kinda like watching foreign film with good but unfamiliar actors. Spiral, mention a couple of times this week, comes to mind. Great series, actors unknown to me.
If you bring the character back, then you automatically remind people of the initial controversy.
By casting a voice actor in the part specifically because of their ethnicity, you're admitting that you felt that what you did before was wrong.
This story reminds me of another story from a few years ago:
"Voice actor SungWon Cho (known as ProZD) faced online backlash and career frustration after previously supporting race-matched "authentic casting", only to find that stricter industry policies later restricted his own auditions mostly to Asian character roles."
For the record, I don't approve of casting voice actors because of their race. The job needs to go to the voice actor who can do the job best, regardless of the voice actor's race.
Having a white man voice Apu is racial expropriation; having a South Asian do it is type casting. The issue is never the issue.
rcommal said...
"This is, essentially, voice-over acting."
No, it isn't. Voice-over acting is where the speaker is not depicted visually on the screen. (like a narrator) When an actor does the voice of a cartoon character that is being depicted on the screen, it's called, "voice acting."
Then there's 'What's Up, Tiger Lily', where Woody Allen over-dubbed an entirely new dialog and plot onto a Japanese rip-off of an American-type James Bond (British spy) movie.
I unplugged my Alexa once they no longer offered the Indian English woman’s voice. The entertainment value was gone. Very disappointing, especially since I thought Kamala would be available for the gig after the 2024 outcome.
Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffany's wins my award for most offensive racial stereotype and appropriation. Change my mind.
When what 'appears wrong' dictates what is considered 'wrong' a cringe twilight zone approaches.
See when 'Land O Lakes' logo had the Indian removed, but kept the Land.
I'm gonna go watch some old Walt Disney WWII cartoons. That'll fix everything.
"When my agent called me about a 'Simpsons' audition, I knew exactly what role it was for, and the idea actually made my stomach sink."
Aww…poor guy probably thought he should be auditioning for Homer.
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