Hank Azaria: Sorry, Never Again!

It's official, Apu is off The Simpsons.

The Simpsons confirmed that Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is being written out of the series. Voice star, Hank Azaria said that he will no longer play Apu in the series. He will continue to play other characters.

For nearly 30 years, Apu was the guy who told Springfield citizens, "Thank you, come again!"

He would sell those Kwik-E-Mart Squishies, expired hot dogs and face frequent robberies from local crook Snake. Apu was married to Manjula and has eight children.

Due to the outrage from the South Asian community, the producers decided to just phase him out without literally killing him off. They will find a way to replace Apu in the coming episodes.

Many Indian-Americans believed that the character is a racist caricature. They believed that he was a racial stereotype of Indians and South Asian people.

Comedian Hari Kondabolu said that the character was extremely harmful. He made the documentary The Problem with Apu. The film focuses on the character's negative stereotypes, racial microaggressions and slurs against Indian and South Asian heritage disseminated through the character. They also take note to other characters like Groundskeeper Willie, Bumblebee Man and Mr. Burns.

Apu is one of the most prominent South Asian characters on a primetime series in the United States.

Hank Azaria confirmed that he will no longer play stereotypical characters. 

Azaria won three Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Voice-Over Performance, winning in 1998, 2001 and 2003.

Apu's image is widely licensed on board games, video games, air freshners and comics. The Kwik-E-Mart was so popular on the show, 7-Eleven, a popular convenience store decided to convert their stores into Kwik-E-Mart. The United States and Canada stores were preparing for The Simpsons Movie at the time.

Apu is an Indian immigrant who operated the Kwik-E-Mart in Springfield. That was one of the local convenience stores in Springfield where many of the citizens go to grab something.

Azaria plays other characters like Moe Szyslak, Chief Wiggum, Professor Frink, Duff Man, Carl, Superintendent Chalmers, Comic Book Guy, Dr. Nick Riviera, Snake, Cletus and Drederick Tatum.

So I'm guessing that The Simpsons is slowly dwindling down to its final seasons. Now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, things are going to change, quickly.