# The Problem With Apu The Problem With Apu is a 2017 documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu that examines how the character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from The Simpsons shaped South Asian representation in American media. The film sparked a national debate about racial stereotyping, pulled a dismissive response from The Simpsons itself, and prompted viral Twitter threads from Desi Americans sharing their own family stories. ## Origin Kondabolu, a self-described Simpsons fan, first went after the character publicly in a 2012 segment on W. Kamau Bell's FX show Totally Biased, where he called Apu "a white guy doing an impression of a white guy making fun of my father"[3]. He pointed back to a 2007 Paltalk interview in which Azaria joked that producers originally asked him, "Can you do an Indian voice and how offensive can you make it?"[4] TruTV green-lit the feature-length documentary in April 2016 and released the trailer on July 27, 2017[5]. The Problem With Apu premiered on TruTV on November 19, 2017, and was covered by The New York Times, NBC and The AV Club in the following weeks[5]. - **Platform:** TruTV (documentary) / Twitter (viral spread) - **Creator:** Hari Kondabolu - **Date:** 2017 ## Overview The documentary runs through interviews with South Asian American performers including Aziz Ansari, Kal Penn, Aasif Mandvi, Hasan Minhaj and Sakina Jaffrey, who describe being called "Apu" as kids and being asked to read lines in Apu's voice during auditions[5]. Whoopi Goldberg appears to compare the character's exaggerated accent to minstrelsy and other caricatures by white performers[3]. Kondabolu frames much of the film around his unsuccessful attempt to interview Hank Azaria, the white voice actor behind Apu, who had already declined to appear[3]. The film earned a 77 on Metacritic and an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes[2]. Reviewers praised the construction of Kondabolu's argument but several complained that the Azaria chase ate screen time that could have gone to the Desi small-business owners whose lives mirror Apu's job[3]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is The Problem With Apu? A 2017 TruTV documentary by Hari Kondabolu examining how the Simpsons character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon shaped stereotypes of South Asians in the US[5]. ### Where did The Problem With Apu come from? Kondabolu first attacked the character in a 2012 Totally Biased segment, and TruTV green-lit the feature in April 2016 before releasing it on November 19, 2017[3]. ### What does The Problem With Apu mean? The title points to Kondabolu's argument that Apu, voiced by white actor Hank Azaria, functioned as a form of racial caricature even as he gave 90s South Asians rare mainstream visibility[4]. ### How do you use The Problem With Apu? It is most often cited in writing about representation in animation and in discussion of The Simpsons' April 2018 on-air response and the viral Amar Shah Twitter thread that followed[1]. ### Is The Problem With Apu still popular? It still stands as the reference point for the Apu controversy, with critics scoring it 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and 77 on Metacritic and journalists revisiting it whenever The Simpsons' handling of the character comes up[2]. ## References 1. [https://time.com/5235065/the-simpsons-response-apu-controversy-viral-story/]() 2. [https://www.metacritic.com/tv/the-problem-with-apu]() 3. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/the-problem-with-apu]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e641aQp8zGI]() 5. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Problem_with_Apu]() 6. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrlpU99lGzI]() 7. [https://x.com/i/status/1050213610461392896]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/the-problem-with-apu Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library