Priyanka Chopra Jonas says featuring in The Simpsons was ‘ironic’ given Apu was the ‘bane of my life’
Topics: The Simpsons, Celebrity, US News
Ella Scott
Featured Image Credit: Associated Press / Alamy Stock Photo /Disney
Topics: The Simpsons, Celebrity, US News
Actor Priyanka Chopra Jonas has recently explained that when she was growing up, Apu from The Simpsons was the ‘bane of her life’.
Chopra, 40, recently shared in an interview with British Vogue that Apu Nahasapeemapetilon had plagued her life and that she suffered from racial stereotyping because of him.
When going through some of her key Instagram photos, Chopra revealed that when she was growing up in the US, people would always ask her why her voice didn't sound like Apu’s.
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She said: “Everybody kept asking why don’t I speak like Apu, why my accent wasn’t like Apu?
“Apu had a really exaggerated Indian accent as we all know now,” she added.
The conversation was sparked by an Instagram image Chopra had previously shared, which showed herself and her husband Nick Jonas, 30, being reimagined as Simpson’s characters in their 2018 wedding outfits.
“To be on The Simpsons in my wedding dress was really fun and ironic considering Apu was the bane of my life when I was growing up,” she said.
Chopra then went on to say that the photo was ‘bittersweet’ because 'The Simpsons are an iconic part of most of our childhoods'.
She continued: “It was also the irony of me in an Indian dress marrying a white guy.”
The recurring Simpsons character, Apu, runs the Kwik-E-Mart in Springfield and was voiced by Hank Azaria up until 2017.
Azaria, 59, is a white man from New York City who also voices other Simpsons characters such as Moe Szyslak, Bumblebee Man and Carl Carlson.
He eventually stopped voicing Apu in 2020 following backlash from a documentary titled The Problem with Apu.
In the film, Apu is referred to by comedian Harry Kondabolu, 40, as ‘a white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father.’
On Armchair Expert, Azaria called for more diverse representation in the entertainment industry.
He said: “If it's an Indian character or a Latinx character or a Black character, please let’s have that person voice that character.
“It’s more authentic, they’ll bring their experience to it, and let’s not take jobs away from people who don’t have enough,” he added.
He also said in another podcast that it 'sucks' that the accent 'caused pain' to people.
Despite Azaria stepping down from the role, Simpsons creator Matt Groening confirmed in 2019 that Apu would not be written out of the long-running show.
However, since 2017, the Kwik-E-Mart operator has only appeared as a background character.
The last time Zaria voiced him was in The Simpsons season 29 premiere ‘The Serfsons’.