“The Simpsons” Respond To “The Problem With Apu” With Important Counterpoint

It looks like Hari Kondabolu , the producer of the critically-panned Problem with Apu, is getting a bit of a second wind in the sails of the only thing anyone really knows him for…producing not very good documentaries.

On last night’s episode of The Simpsons,  the producers fired their first counter-attack in the political correctness campaign brought by the struggling comedian claiming that the character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a  racist stereotype due to his accent and place of employment, this despite a recent Vice News survey that noted that there is statistical evidence to back up the fact that chain stores, like 7-Eleven and South Asian immigration, have a correlation, a note that Apu voice Hank Azaria preludes to when talking about his inspiration for the role in multiple interviews before when he was an up and coming actor in Hollywood, California.

The Simpsons took a different approach, they correctly highlighted the horrifying trend of extreme political correctness that, regardless of political affiliation, seems to rear its ugly head in today’s art. Classic literature, television, and stand-up comedy have all been victims of a growing trend of being lambasted for controversial takes on American culture. In last night’s episode, Marge and Lisa are reading the book The Princess of the Garden, which today is heavily redacted to ease outspoken concerns instead of being the original take from the author…in a word “censorship”.

Well, what am I supposed to do?” Marge says while reading the book to Lisa. “It’s hard to say. Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect,” Lisa notes. “What can you do?” And then we get a quick pan over to Apu.

Despite saying that The Simpsons have caused him thirty years of harm, Hari Kondabolu was able to respond immediately after watching the episode

In “The Problem with Apu,” I used Apu & The Simpsons as an entry point into a larger conversation about the representation of marginalized groups & why this is important. The Simpsons response tonight is not a jab at me, but at what many of us consider progress.

— Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) April 9, 2018

Even funnier, Hari retweeted a bot account named “taliban69” to I guess prove a point?

In any event, multiple legit South Asian Twitter users sounded off supporting The Simpsons.

You can read our review of last night’s episode here.