Apu Returns to The Simpsons Nine Years After Controversy

In January 2020, Hank Azaria stepped down from voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, the Kwik-E-Mart owner and one of the best-known characters on The Simpsons. Azaria and the show’s writers agreed that the portrayal of Apu relied on racial stereotypes. They apologized, and the character and his family were quietly moved into the background. On Oct. 18, 2026, in the season 38 episode “The Revengening,” Apu officially returned with a new voice actor.

That actor is Sunil Malhotra (The Legend of Vox Machina, Grey’s Anatomy). Before taking the part, he talked at length with the producers about how to make Apu culturally appropriate and respectful to people of Indian and South Asian heritage. “Whether the producers knew it or not, I was prepared to walk away,” Malhotra said in an interview with Variety. He recalled that he had once given up his first professional job because he was asked to play a stereotypical Hindu person.

The showrunners’ care with Apu’s return won him over. “It was the beginning of a deeply collaborative experience that I hope is equally satisfying for longtime fans of The Simpsons and for other South Asian kids who, like me, stopped watching at some point along the way.”

Apu returns in a distinctly meta episode

The controversy began in 2017 with The Problem With Apu, a documentary by Indian American comedian Hari Kondabolu. The film argued that the stereotypical portrayal had deeply damaged people of South Asian heritage, to the point that “Apu” began to be used as a racial slur. Azaria, who is white, said characters of color should be voiced by actors from those communities, and he left the role.

Apu then became a background character. He made sporadic appearances but never spoke a word while the show decided what to do with him.

It took almost nine years, but he came back in “The Revengening,” the lead-up to next week’s “Treehouse of Horror XXXVII.” The episode tells the story of Apu’s past nine years in classic Simpsons style. A mysterious figure called Daft Monk is repeatedly and accidentally almost killed by the citizens of Springfield. He summons everyone to City Hall and reveals himself as Apu.

Apu explains how he ended up on The Island of Forgotten Garbage, where “all the junk Springfield gets rid of” lands. Other castoffs there include Dr. Nick and Leon, who is from the infamous Michael Jackson episode.

Apu accuses Springfield of pretending he never existed and refusing to bring him back. Marge steps up to apologize, acting as a mouthpiece for the show’s writers and producers: “Apu, we’re so sorry we left you for dead. Believe me, we wanted to do the right thing.”

Lenny and Carl then nod to the many debates in the writers’ room over the past decade, which “kind of just didn’t go anywhere.”

At the end, Apu wakes up in the Kwik-E-Mart next to his wife, Manjula, who is now voiced by Janina Gavankar (The Morning Show). It was all a dream. Homer walks in and invites him to a Halloween party.

Fans welcome the casting

The show’s staff has long been candid about why they hesitated to bring Apu back. They wanted to be sure they had the right stories to tell about him. Fans have welcomed his return and reacted positively to Malhotra’s casting.

“Bringing Apu back feels like a reclamation,” Malhotra wrote in an Instagram post. “It truly is his homecoming.”

Source: Polygon