The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean dismisses reports of dropping Apu's character amid racism row

Los Angeles: The Simpsons showrunner Al Jean rubbished reports of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon being written off from the show amid the much-heated debate over the character’s stereotypical portrayal. [caption id=“attachment_4426151” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] Apu from The Simpsons/Image from Twitter.[/caption] Last week, producer and Castlevania animator Adi Shankar told IndieWire that the show is planning to “drop the Apu character altogether”. Shankar, who is not attached to The Simpsons, clarified that he received the news from two people who work for the show and a third source who works directly with creator Matt Groening. Jean discredited the news saying Shankar was “not a producer” on the show.

Adi Shankar is not a producer on the Simpsons. I wish him the very best but he does not speak for our show.

— Al Jean (@AlJean) October 28, 2018

The writer also went on to deny another report which claimed that the character “is being deported from Springfield”. One of the longest running animated sitcoms on American TV, the show has been criticised for its stereotypical portrayal of the South Asian community which came to light after Hari Kondabolu called out the makers through his documentary, The Problem with Apu. Following the controversy, The Simpsons addressed the criticism in the episode No Good Read Goes Unpunished but failed to pacify the viewers . The makers were further slammed on social media for its tone-deaf response. Earlier, Hank Azaria, the voice behind Apu, offered to step away from the role after the controversy surged. Creator Groening also said the debate around Apu’s depiction had turned into noise and “no nuance” was left in the conversation.