Super-wealthy and world-famous actress Priyanka Chopra just appeared in an interview for British Vogue and, in that interview, declared that she had been traumatized by a character on The Simpsons, a comedy cartoon, which she claimed was the “bane of [her] existence.”
That came at around the 4:30 mark in the British Vogue interview, at which point the 41-year-old actress described her wedding to Nick Jonas and how her wedding dress related to her lifelong “bane” of her existence, saying, “To be on The Simpsons in my wedding dress was really funny and ironic, considering Apu was the bane of my life when I was growing up.”
She continued, explaining her complicated relationship with Apu, saying, “Everybody kept asking me why I didn’t speak like Apu, why my accent wasn’t like Apu? – Apu had a really exaggerated Indian accent, as we all know now. This was really bittersweet and funny because obviously, The Simpsons are an iconic part of most of our childhood, but it was also the irony of me in an Indian dress marrying a white guy.”
She’s not the only star to say such things about “Apu.” Hank Azaria, the former voice of Apu, did as well, saying: “I was speaking at my son’s school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input. A 17-year-old … he’s never even seen The Simpsons but knows what Apu means. It’s practically a slur at this point.”
Continuing, Azaria argued, “All he knows is that is how his people are thought of and represented to many people in this country. I really do apologize. It’s important. I apologize for my part in creating that and participating in that. Part of me feels like I need to go to every single Indian person in this country and personally apologize. And sometimes I do.”
So, perhaps she’s telling the truth. Perhaps not. Either way, it’s a cartoon character and the Simpsons has announced that, for now, at least, Apu will remain in the show. However, his role in it has remained limited since the outrage began in earnest.
Watch Chopra here:
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However, not all Indian Americans are supportive of the decision to axe Apu from “The Simpsons.” For example, Akaash Singh, a middle-aged Indian American comedian, questioned why Apu’s accent is considered offensive, asking, “Is it because you think the accent is ugly? I don’t think it’s ugly. My parents have one. I’m not embarrassed by it. The ones who think it’s offensive, they probably are.”
Azaria, describing the background to where Apu’s voice came from, said, “The only really Indian accent that I had context for, apart from guys who worked at the 7-Eleven that I was near in LA, was Peter Sellers in ‘The Party.’ It was an homage to that, you know, one of my heroes.”
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video