Priyanka Chopra Jonas Describes Apu, the Indian Character From the Simpsons As the Bane of Her Life Growing Up

Bollywood’s own Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been making waves in Hollywood for some time now. In a recent interview with the British Vogue, she spoke about the influence of the Simpsons Indian character Apu in her life. She mentioned how Apu was the bane of her life growing up.

Apu, Springfield’s Kwik-E-Mart convenience store owner from India, has long been criticised for promoting racial discrimination against Indians. This is a character who holds a PhD, but is an illegal immigrant.

In the interview, she talked about the pictures she posted earlier on her Instagram, reimagining both her and Nick Jonas in the wedding attires as Simpsons characters.

“To be on The Simpsons in my wedding dress was really funny and ironic, considering Apu was the bane of my life when I was growing up. Everybody kept asking me why I didn’t speak like Apu, why my accent wasn’t like Apu? – Apu had a really exaggerated Indian accent, as we all know now. This was really bittersweet and funny because obviously, The Simpsons are an iconic part of most of our childhood, but it was also the irony of me in an Indian dress marrying a white guy. Great.”

Chopra Jonas has been very vocal about the racism that she faced during her early days in America. And it is exactly this kind of racial discrimination, stemming from the promotion of stereotypes, that the character of Apu has been held accountable for. However, after voice Hank Azaria, who voice the voice of Apu, stepped down from playing the character back in 2020, Apu has been reduced to a side character with no lines.

Priyanka Chopra Jonas is currently starring in Amazon Prime’s action-thriller series Citadel, alongside Richard Madden and Stanley Tucci. Her movie Love Again is also in theatres now, featuring actors Sam Heughan and Celine Dion.