The Problem with Apu Page #7

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a moment of regret,

"Maybe I shouldn't have,

maybe I'm taking them off

the hook by doing this."

Like, was there ever that?

Oh, yeah, when I watched it.

Really?

Well, yeah.

I mean...

"The Simpsons" wins.

I wanted to win.

You're my uncle, brah,

and I love you.

But you're a stereotype, man!

"Take a penny, leave a penny.

I'm Indian. I do yoga."

Why don't you go back to

the "Temple of Doom,"

Dr. Jones?"

He leaves, and then

an Italian guy comes out

who's the full-blown

stereotype.

Stereotype-a?

Who's a stereotype-a?

That's a spicy accusation!

You pipe down!

Hey!

And it's like "The Simpsons",

the show,

being like,

"Stop complaining.

We do this to everyone."

Okay, so, "The Simpsons" gave us

a less-than-satisfying answer

to this Apu problem.

And now Hank had an opportunity

to change this.

"Hey, Hari, thanks

for sending me those clips.

The film looks

really interesting

and thought-provoking.

I'm glad you're making it.

Having said that..."

That's not good, okay.

"Having said that,

it's not something

I can participate in.

I'm not comfortable, one,

speaking on behalf

of the whole show,

two, throwing myself

upon the mercy of your edit.

It's nothing against you.

As I said, I think

what you're doing is great.

I would definitely be open

to reconnecting

after the film is finished

and finding

a mutually-acceptable forum

for us to have a conversation

about this.

If that still interests you,

let me know.

All the best to you, Hari,

and keep up the great work.

Hank."

That's great that he --

He gets to choose

how he wants to be portrayed.

What a privilege.

He gets to choose how he

is viewed by other people.

So ironic.

I like to have fun

And stick out my tongue

Wow. So, this whole thing was

a giant waste of time and money!

Luckily, it was

somebody else's money,

but still, nothing was solved!

We never got to

those responsible.

It was just some film about

some cartoon character.

Or maybe it wasn't.

You're showing a kid,

a comedian, a filmmaker,

an actor, a musician,

who's Indian,

Southasian-American,

that they can do this

and it can make it

on television and film.

And you're not

a computer dude right now.

You're not an asexual being.

We wrote the "Kama Sutra."

We taught you how to

You're building,

and I think this is the way

to move forward

and create sort of a --

a blueprint for

the generations to come.

Here we go!

There has been

undeniable progress

for Southasian-American

representation

over the last decade.

I mean, Aziz has a show.

Mindy has a show.

I certainly deserve a show.

However, we still have room

to grow,

considering I know

almost every

Southasian-American

in the media.

And half of them are

in this film.

And now a different group

of Indians...

is taking it back.

Southasians would

come up to me all the time

and be like, "I'm so glad

that you're there, on that show,

just by virtue

of the way you look

and the stories

that you get to talk about

and your perspectives."

You know, I said to John Stewart

when I got the job,

I was like, "Do you want me

to do the accent?"

And then he was like,

"What? No!

No, I don't think

we need you to that.

No!

Just talk like yourself."

And I was like, "Yes!"

This is progress.

Progress is you hearing me

talk to you

and not hearing a white dude

pretending to be me.

Sometimes people also ask me,

"How come when you do

impressions of your parents,

you don't use an accent?"

And the answer to that question,

of course, is you.

That's why I don't

use an accent.

There's an action figure.

He's got the convenience store.

You can press this button.

I take it from your yelling

that you like my tofu dogs.

What the is that?

Yes, this is -- yeah.

Before we wrapped it up,

I just wanted to...

Don't give me that.

I wanted to give you this.

I wanted to give you this.

Do not give me that!

I wanted to give you this,

and this is --

I mean,

I realize you probably...

For my Negrobilia.

Yeah.

Okay.

Thank you, Whoopi.

Thank you, honey.

Look, you're still allowed

to love "The Simpsons."

All I'm saying

is that "The Simpsons"

is like your racist grandfather.

You love your grandfather.

He's been there your whole life

and has taught you

so many valuable things.

But he still does

racist stuff regularly.

So if he can't change,

maybe it's time he dies.

And you can just remember

the best things about him --

seasons 1 through 10.

Oh, and one more thing.

Aah!

Yeah, I think about

what my mom's been through

in this country, right?

People saying things like,

"Take that dog off your head,"

or "Why are you wearing

bed sheets out of the house,"

or "Why don't you shut up

and make me food?"

And this is just stuff

me and my brothers

said to her, growing up.

Now, can you imagine

what she dealt with

out of the house?

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