Over the course of its long, long run, The Simpsons has seen a number of characters say goodbye to Springfield: Maude Flanders, Edna Krabappel, Bleeding Gums Murphy, Herb Powell, and most recently Larry the Barfly. For most, the characters no longer appear on the show because of an actor’s death (characters Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure were key supporting characters up until the death of their “voice,” Phil Hartman) or simply haven’t been brought back (like Danny Devito‘s character, Homer’s half-brother Herb Powell, who hasn’t appeared in years, apart from the Season 36 premiere, that brings him back).
One of the series’ longest-running characters, however, just seemed to slowly slip into the background after having been a main recurring character for the bulk of The Simpsons‘ run, and the last time he welcomed anyone to the Kwik-E-Mart was back in Season 29. We are, of course, talking about Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, and there’s a reason why he no longer appears as a speaking character.
‘The Simpsons’ Apu Became the Lone Representation of South Asians on American TV
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon (hereon simply “Apu”) was originally conceived as a nameless convenience store clerk, simply called “CLERK,” and written Matt Reiss; in the margin of the script were the words “definitely not Indian,” looking to avoid such an obvious cliché. But The Simpsons‘ versatile voice actor Hank Azaria, asked by one of the producers if he would try an Indian accent, used a heavy, stereotypical South Asian accent during the table read, and it cracked the room up.
Collider Exclusive · Universe Personality Quiz Which Iconic Universe Do You Belong in the Most? Star Wars · Lord of the Rings · Harry Potter · Game of Thrones · Star Trek
Five legendary universes. Five completely different visions of what the world could be — or already was. One of them is the world your instincts, your values, and your particular way of existing were built for. Eight questions will tell you which one.
🚀Star Wars
💍Lord of the Rings
🧙Harry Potter
👑Game of Thrones
🖖Star Trek
01
What gives your life its deepest sense of meaning? Every universe is built around a different answer to this question.
02
Which kind of world do you most want to inhabit? The environment shapes who you become. Choose carefully.
03
How do you prefer your conflicts resolved? The shape of a world’s conflicts tells you everything about its soul.
04
Who do you want beside you when things get difficult? Your ideal companions reveal the world you were made for.
05
What is your relationship with power? How you seek, wield, or resist power is the map of who you are.
06
How does your universe treat good and evil? A world’s moral architecture tells you more about it than any map.
07
What role would you naturally fall into? Every universe has archetypes. Which one fits you without trying?
08
What do you ultimately believe about the future? The answer to this is the clearest window into which universe already lives inside you.
Your Universe Has Been Chosen You Belong In…
Your answers point to the iconic universe your values, your instincts, and your particular way of seeing the world were built for. This is where you would find your people — and your purpose.
A Galaxy Far, Far Away
Star Wars
You believe in the cause — in the idea that freedom is worth fighting for even when the odds are impossible and the empire is vast.
You are drawn to the moral clarity of a universe where hope itself is a form of resistance.
You’d find your people in the Rebellion — a ragtag coalition of true believers held together by conviction more than resources.
Star Wars is fundamentally a story about ordinary people choosing to matter in an extraordinary conflict — and that is exactly your kind of story.
The Force may or may not be with you. But the will to use it for something larger than yourself certainly is.
Middle-earth
Lord of the Rings
You understand, in the deepest part of yourself, that the journey matters as much as the destination — and that the world’s beauty is worth protecting even at great cost.
Middle-earth is a world of ancient wonder, deep friendship, and a darkness that only retreats when enough small acts of courage accumulate.
You would thrive here because you value the fellowship more than the glory — the road more than the arrival.
Tolkien’s universe rewards patience, loyalty, and the willingness to carry something heavy across a very long distance.
Those are not burdens to you. They are simply how you move through the world.
The Wizarding World
Harry Potter
You believe that love, loyalty, and doing what’s right are not naive sentiments — they are the most powerful forces in any world, magical or otherwise.
The Wizarding World is a place of wonder hidden in plain sight, where learning is transformative and the bonds you form at school follow you into every battle.
You would flourish here because you take both the magic and the friendships seriously — and you understand that one without the other is incomplete.
Harry Potter’s universe ultimately rewards those who choose to stand for something even when standing is terrifying.
That choice — made quietly, without guarantee — is something you understand completely.
Westeros · The Known World
Game of Thrones
You see the world clearly — its power structures, its hypocrisies, its brutal arithmetic — and you are not paralysed by that clarity. You use it.
Westeros is a world that rewards intelligence, adaptability, and the willingness to understand that every alliance is also a negotiation.
You would survive here — possibly thrive here — because you don’t confuse the world as it is with the world as you’d like it to be.
Game of Thrones is a story about what happens when the idealists and the realists collide. You are sharp enough to know which one lasts longer.
Winter always comes. You are already prepared.
The United Federation of Planets
Star Trek
You believe the future is worth building — that curiosity, cooperation, and the expansion of understanding are not just ideals but the most practical path forward for any civilisation.
Star Trek is a universe where the questions matter as much as the answers, and where encountering something utterly alien is cause for wonder rather than fear.
You would belong here because you are fundamentally optimistic about what intelligence and decency can achieve — while being honest about how hard that achievement is.
The Federation is the universe’s most ambitious thought experiment: what if we actually got better?
You don’t just hope that’s possible. You think it’s the only thing worth working toward.
The voice stayed, and the world was introduced to Apu in the classic first-season episode “The Telltale Head.” He became one of the series’ most popular recurring characters, almost always behind the counter of the Kwik-E-Mart, dispensing Squishees and his popular catchphrase, “Thank you, come again.” He was the lead character in a few episodes as well, including “Homer and Apu,” which featured the Emmy-nominated song “Who Needs the Kwik-E-Mart?” and was the character that provided the rationale for the appearance of Paul and Linda McCartney in the series-changing episode “Lisa the Vegetarian.”
But the popular public image of Apu was that of the convenience store clerk, purveyor of questionable food, and “Gigantic Asses” magazines, all with that heavy South Asian accent. Although The Simpsons writers and Azaria himself never meant for it to happen, that image became the predominant stereotype of South Asian people throughout America. Utkarsh Ambudkar explains it like this (per Entertainment Weekly):
“We just were underrepresented. We didn’t have any other representation in this country. That creates a problem when the most popular show on television is showing mainstream America what an Indian is.”
“The Problem With Apu” Creates Problems for Fox and ‘The Simpsons’
That depiction of Apu remained unchallenged for years, while the use of the name “Apu” and “Thank you, come again” grew into slurs used against the South Asian community. Then came 2017’s The Problem With Apu, a documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu, that initiated a public discussion on how the character negatively impacted Indian Americans as a racial stereotype. Whether the documentary simply opened the eyes of the public to it, or if those who always had an issue with Apu were finally just given a voice, was secondary to the fact that the conversation grew to such a point it couldn’t be ignored.
The thing is, instead of recognizing that the winds of change were blowing and maintaining the status quo simply wasn’t going to work, The Simpsons arguably made what is the series’ most mind-numbing, tone-deaf, and cringe-worthy statement in defense of Apu, in a scene from “No Good Read Goes Unpunished” (as summarized by Entertainment Weekly):
The scene begins with Marge reading a bedtime story to Lisa that had been neutered with social justice buzzwords. “What am I supposed to do?” Marge asks when Lisa complains. “It’s hard to say,” says Lisa, breaking the fourth wall and looking directly at the camera. A photo of Apu on the nightstand helped make it very clear they were no longer talking about the fictional bedtime story. “Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” “Some things will be dealt with at a later date,” says Marge, also to the camera. “—If it all,” Lisa concludes.
The response was ripped to shreds across social media, and it was clear that The Simpsons severely underestimated the impact of Kondabolu’s insightful documentary.
‘The Simpsons’ and Hank Azaria Put Apu on Mute
The “Much Apu About Nothing” episode of The SimpsonsImage via FOX
The Simpsons’ response may have been tone-deaf and, quite frankly, stupid, but at least one member of the cast went public with his misgivings about the character: the voice of Apu himself, Hank Azaria. On an episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that aired shortly after, Azaria admitted that he would be willing to step aside from the role for no other reason than it being the right thing to do, and suggested that South Asian writers in the writers’ room should help direct the future of Apu.
So, when news came down in 2020 that Azaria and The Simpsons team agreed that he would stop voicing Apu altogether, it didn’t come as a surprise. Since then, Azaria has been very open about his remorse for having helped to “create a pretty marginalizing, dehumanizing stereotype,” citing the story of a Middle Eastern man being called Apu repeatedly while being attacked in his store as particularly eye-opening in showing the extent of the damage The Problem with Apu was addressing.
By then, Apu had already made his last notable speaking appearance in Season 29’s “The Serfsons,” which aired on October 1, 2017. But the question of whether putting Apu on mute is the right thing to do or not is a contentious issue in itself. For some, silencing Apu addresses nothingand removes a prominent character of color from TV that could still be of value in turning around the conversation in conjunction with the South Asian community.
The problem, though, is that it may simply be too late. The announcement in 2020 that white actors would no longer voice people of color on The Simpsons works for a character like Carl Carlsen, now voiced by Alex Désert, because his voice was never a caricature of African-American speech, whereas Apu’s was an exaggeration from the start, and an authentic South Asian voice would be at odds with the history of a character who has been defined in one way for decades. Right or wrong, Apu has effectively been cut from the show entirely, and it would seem that he has been shown the exit door of the Kwik-E-Mart, with the words, “Thank you, don’t come again,” following him out.
