Priyanka Chopra opens up about Apu controversy

The Simpsons is undoubtedly one of the most successful shows on television, and along with all the adulation the show has also had seen its share of controversies. The latest one involves Indian-origin character Apu, and a host of South Asian celebrities have come forward criticising the stereotype.

Bollywood's most successful import to Hollywood, Priyanka Chopra, recently touched upon the controversy during an appearance on ABC’s The View.

Chopra, who stars in Quantico, called Apu the bane of her life growing up.

“He was the bane in my life growing up and there is a couple of things why I say this!" said Chopra. "A lot of people are talking that the show was successful for 30 years and why are we suddenly waking up and being offended by a character that everyone loved. People say that The Simpsons makes fun of every race and they talk about stereotypical characters and every character is stereotypical, which is true! But a couple of things happened. The show was first aired in, I guess, 1989 and it was path breaking at that time for television. Everyone looked yellow except Apu and that made him stand out completely. And then he had an accent, but (makes Apu’s accent) ‘not all of us speak like that all the time.’

"And from that time to now, the number of Indian Americans in America has tripled. So the voice is louder, the representation and demand for representation for people of colours is louder. There is the internet and the media where people have a conversation. Even if someone was offended at that time, which I was, (there was no way to express it).” 

Matt Groening, the creator of US show The Simpsons, has finally addressed the controversy surrounding Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and questioned the outrage.

In a recent chat with USA Today, Groening said people should stop pretending they were offended. “I’m proud of what we do on the show. And I think it’s a time in our culture where people love to pretend they’re offended,” said the show’s creator.