History ValuesDissonance / TheSimpsons

* The 1991 episode "Stark Raving Dad," famous for starring Music/MichaelJackson in an uncredited guest role (for which reason it's now a MissingEpisode on streaming services), [[HarsherInHindsight also features his character, a mental patient, rooming with Bart while staying at the Simpsons' house]]. The unlikeliness of such a scenario by the 2010s due to increasing awareness of child sexual abuse over the 90s and 00s—in no small part due to scandals such as the allegations against Jackson—got a LampshadeHanging in the 2015 episode "Walking Big and Tall."

* In ''"Mayored to the Mob"'' the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con ad disparagingly calls [=R2D2=] and [=C3PO=] "the gay robots from ''Star Wars''". Borderline edgy at the time, but not seen as funny nowadays and would likely lead to demands for the ad to be pulled and those who made it getting criticized for it.

** Also in "Three Men and a Comic Book" comes the debut of the character Mrs. Glick, an elderly widow and neighbor of the Simpsons. Her ways are archaic, her lifestyle and beliefs often being as though she is living in the 1950s (or before), such as paying Bart a "very generous" Depression-era 50 cents for a week's work of backbreaking yardwork. She also reveals she enjoys soap operas (which were starting to fall out of favor in the 1990s), she had a brother killed in action during World War I, and shows her wedding dress that she dyed black for her husband's funeral years earlier.

* Apu has caught flak from some contemporary viewers for being an EthnicScrappy whose entire character is deeply rooted in Indian stereotypes (especially the "dishonest shopkeeper" part). One major point of contention is that he's voiced by [[Creator/HankAzaria a white man]] [[ModernMinstrelsy doing a broad, exaggerated Indian accent,]] and while the show is known for having a cast full of stereotypes, these stereotypes mostly come from different parts of European and/or white American culture (like Scotland, Italy, and the DeepSouth) or make fun of archetypes such as the rich white businessman. The problem is that, with a mostly white cast and very few minority characters, it can feel to some viewers like the show is punching down when mocking Apu, and by extension, Indian Americans as a whole[[note]]This could also even apply to African-Americans (Carl has been {{flanderized}} into a vindictive {{flat character}}, Dr. Hibbert and Judge Snyder are portrayed to be philanderers on top of being ineffective, and Officer Lou has become Chief Wiggum's somewhat less corrupt [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder retainer]]) and Hispanic-Americans (Bumblebee Man is a parody of how Americans see Mexican TV shows and Dr. Nick is pretty much the worst doctor ever), to some extent[[/note]]. His stereotypical nature is highlighted in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E12TeamHomer "Team Homer"]] where his bowling team loses to another one called "The Stereotypes", made up of [[DeepSouth Cletus,]] [[RambunctiousItalian Luigi,]] [[TalkLikeAPirate The Sea Captain,]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian Groundskeeper Willie.]] In 2019, Azaria announced he would stop voicing the character( though the creators of the show had already recognized his problematic nature by phasing Apu out of speaking roles, with "Much Apu About Something" being his final speaking role and essentially addressing his stereotypical natural head on) and that he was supportive of the idea of a Hindu actor taking over as several non-white characters, not only on ''The Simpsons'', had their voice artists changed[[note]]Alex Desert took over as Carl and Officer Lou with Eric Lopez also replacing Azaria as Bumblebee Man, and Kevin Michael Richardson replaced Harry Shearer Dr. Hibbert[[/note]], though the show later decided to just have Apu stop making appearances altogether as his reputation became so radioactive that there weren't any actors willing to become his new voice.

* Apu has caught flak from some contemporary viewers for being an EthnicScrappy whose entire character is deeply rooted in Indian stereotypes (especially the "dishonest shopkeeper" part). One major point of contention is that he's voiced by [[Creator/HankAzaria a white man]] [[ModernMinstrelsy doing a broad, exaggerated Indian accent,]] and while the show is known for having a cast full of stereotypes, these stereotypes mostly come from different parts of European and/or white American culture (like Scotland, Italy, and the DeepSouth) or make fun of archetypes such as the rich white businessman. The problem is that, with a mostly white cast and very few minority characters, it can feel to some viewers like the show is punching down when mocking Apu, and by extension, Indian Americans as a whole[[note]]This could also even apply to African-Americans (Carl has been {{flanderized}} into a vindictive {{flat character}}, Dr. Hibbert and Judge Snyder are portrayed to be philanderers on top of being ineffective, and Officer Lou has become Chief Wiggum's somewhat less corrupt [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder retainer]]) and Hispanic-Americans (Bumblebee Man is a parody of how Americans see Mexican TV shows and Dr. Nick is pretty much the worst doctor ever), to some extent[[/note]]. His stereotypical nature is highlighted in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E12TeamHomer "Team Homer"]] where his bowling team loses to another one called "The Stereotypes", made up of [[DeepSouth Cletus,]] [[RambunctiousItalian Luigi,]] [[TalkLikeAPirate The Sea Captain,]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian Groundskeeper Willie.]] In 2019, Azaria announced he would stop voicing the character( though the creators of the show had already recognized his problematic nature by phasing Apu out of speaking roles, with "Much Apu About Something" being his final speaking role and essentially addressing his stereotypical natural head on) and that he was supportive of the idea of a Hindu actor taking over as several non-white characters, not only on ''The Simpsons'', had their voice artists changed[[note]]Alex Desert took over as Carl and Officer Lou with Eric Lopez also replacing Azaria as Bumblebee Man, and Kevin Michael Richardson replaced Harry Shearer Dr. Hibbert[[note]], though the show later decided to just have Apu stop making appearances altogether as his reputation became so radioactive that there weren't any actors willing to become his new voice.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E10Springfield $pringfield]]": Was Homer teaching Maggie to gamble supposed to come as a shock? If so, it'd be lost on a British audience. British gambling laws allow minors to gamble, albeit on arcade games that dispense tokens and/or tickets to the winners. It's kind of like what America has with Chuck E. Cheese, Dave & Busters, and other "family fun center" places which combine a restaurant with an arcade. In fact, gambling with real money (albeit small stakes) is not only legal in parts of the UK and Europe, but it's a normal part of growing up, teaching kids the valuable lesson of "Don't bet what you can't lose". In America, gambling on ''anything'' with real money has a hard minimum age of 18 years old; anyone caught gambling underage would be ejected and banned from the premises, at best. A parent teaching their kid to gamble in a casino could easily end up going to jail for it.

** For a time, Ned Flanders replaces Skinner as the school principal. Flanders's lenient nature causes the school to descend into utter chaos which Superintendent Chalmers ignores... until he hears Flanders saying "let's thank the Lord for another beautiful school day" over the intercom, after which he immediately fires Flanders. Most nations do believe in separation of church and state, especially in regards to education. But in the United States, prayer of any sort of religion endorsed by a teacher of a public school is illegal. European viewers wondered what the deal was, or found it amusing that Flanders was fired over saying one word, of all things. That said, even in America, the joke was that Chalmers was [[FelonyMisdemeanor overreacting to a relatively benign offense]]. So a non-American might see this as a joke about a RoleEndingMisdemeanor, but might not get the cultural aspect that was also being parodied.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E20TheCanineMutiny The Canine Mutiny]]" when it's revealed that the blind guy who got Santa's Little Helper is carrying Marijuana and Wiggum, Lou and Eddie decide not to arrest him for it on the grounds that it might be "medicinal" so they can smoke it with him and party is treated as blatant police corruption as at the time of the episodes airing only two U.S. states allowed Marijuana and only for medical issues (and the Clinton Administration was vocally opposed to even that). In the following decades many states have since legalized Marijuana and people being arrested over merely smoking a joint is now largely seen as an example of abuse of authority and institutional racism(as the vast majority of people put in jail over possession of Pot were black)so in today's climate the Springfield P.D. electing not to arrest someone over mere possession of Pot now looks downright reasonable.
* In the 2000s, the show got an Arabic dub, but significant changes were made. Since drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islamic countries, most references to liquor were cut or [[FrothyMugsOfWater changed to non-alcoholic beverages]] (Homer's precious Duff Beer was changed to Duff Soda) and references to pork chops and hot dogs (which aren't considered halal[[note]]what is acceptable under Islamic dietary laws[[/note]]) were changed to Egyptian beef sausages. Arabic fans of the show weren't impressed though with the "edited to conform to Islamic law" version, as they were used to seeing the series uncut with Arabic subtitles.

* Lisa, in comparison, is much beloved in Japan, but has amassed a dislike amongst a subset of American viewers(and, to a lesser extent, other Western nations). She started out as the intelligent, hard-working, "respectable" sibling, and those traits are why she is still beloved in Japan.

* Apu has caught flak from some contemporary viewers for being an EthnicScrappy whose entire character is deeply rooted in Indian stereotypes (especially the "dishonest shopkeeper" part). One major point of contention is that he's voiced by [[Creator/HankAzaria a white man]] [[ModernMinstrelsy doing a broad, exaggerated Indian accent,]] and while the show is known for having a cast full of stereotypes, these stereotypes mostly come from different parts of European and/or white American culture (like Scotland, Italy, and the DeepSouth) or make fun of archetypes such as the rich white businessman. The problem is that, with a mostly white cast and very few minority characters, it can feel to some viewers like the show is punching down when mocking Apu, and by extension, Indian Americans as a whole[[note]]This could also even apply to African-Americans (Carl has been {{flanderized}} into a vindictive {{flat character}}, Dr. Hibbert and Judge Snyder are portrayed to be philanderers on top of being ineffective, and Officer Lou has become Chief Wiggum's somewhat less corrupt [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder retainer]]) and Hispanic-Americans (Bumblebee Man is a parody of how Americans see Mexican TV shows and Dr. Nick is pretty much the worst doctor ever), to some extent[[/note]]. His stereotypical nature is highlighted in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E12TeamHomer "Team Homer"]] where his bowling team loses to another one called "The Stereotypes", made up of [[DeepSouth Cletus,]] [[RambunctiousItalian Luigi,]] [[TalkLikeAPirate The Sea Captain,]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian Groundskeeper Willie.]] In 2019, Azaria announced he would stop voicing the character(though the creators of the show had already recognized his problematic nature by phasing Apu out of speaking roles, with "Much Apu About Something" being his final speaking role and essentially addressing his stereotypical natural head on)and that he was supportive of the idea of a Hindu actor taking over, though the show decided to just have Apu stop making appearances altogether.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E8NewKidOnTheBlock New Kid on the Block]]" Marge is visibly uncomfortable around her new neighbor, a divorced single mother. This attitude was almost quaint when it was first aired, but now it makes Marge look rather close-minded.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS8E4BurnsBabyBurns Burns Baby Burns]]", the Simpson family discusses the awful things Mr. Burns has done to them (i.e. sexual harassment and injury), with Homer finishing by saying that Burns made fun of his weight. In 1996, this was meant to be a case of ArsonMurderAndJaywalking, with the latter offense being ridiculously benign compared to the others. While it's definitely still seen as less egregious than some of Burns' other actions, nowadays fat-shaming is taken far more seriously than it used to be. As such, many modern viewers won't find the contrast between that offense and the others to be nearly as ridiculous as it was intended to be.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E14LisaVsMalibuStacy Lisa vs. Malibu Stacy]]" the family at one point expresses exhaustion with Lisa’s endless moral crusades. In particular, Bart cites the fact that she made them all march in a gay pride parade (with Bart ending up on the newspaper's front page), which is presented as a fairly extreme thing to subject her family to. Today, not only is it common for non-LGBT+ families to attend Pride, later episodes show the Simpsons doing so without any discomfort.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E8NewKidOnTheBlock New Kid on the Block]]" Marge is visibly uncomfortable around her new neighbor, a divorced single mother. This attitude was almost quaint when it was first aired, but now it makes Marge look rather conservative.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS2E10BartGetsHitByACar Bart Gets Hit by a Car]]" Lisa asks Lionel Hutz if he's a shyster. The term has since fallen out of usage due to anti-Semitic connotations.

* Lisa, in comparison, is much beloved in Japan, but has amassed a very strong dislike amongst a subset of American viewers(and, to a lesser extent, other Western nations) viewers. She started out as the intelligent, hard-working, "respectable" sibling, and those traits are why she is still beloved in Japan.

* In ''"Mayored to the Mob"'' the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con ad disparagingly calls [=R2D2=] and [=C3PO=] "the gay robots from ''Star Wars''". Borderline edgy at the time, modern sensibilities would see the advert pulled and those responsible at the centre of mass outcry.

* Apu has caught flak from contemporary viewers for being an EthnicScrappy whose entire character is deeply rooted in Indian stereotypes (especially the "dishonest shopkeeper" part). One major point of contention is that he's voiced by [[Creator/HankAzaria a white man]] [[ModernMinstrelsy doing a broad, exaggerated Indian accent,]] and while the show is known for having a cast full of stereotypes, these stereotypes mostly come from different parts of European and/or white American culture (like Scotland, Italy, and the DeepSouth) or make fun of archetypes such as the rich white businessman. The problem is that, with a mostly white cast and very few minority characters, it can feel to some viewers like the show is punching down when mocking Apu, and by extension, Indian Americans as a whole[[note]]This could also even apply to African-Americans (Carl has been {{flanderized}} into a vindictive {{flat character}}, Dr. Hibbert and Judge Snyder are portrayed to be philanderers on top of being ineffective, and Officer Lou has become Chief Wiggum's somewhat less corrupt [[CloudcuckoolandersMinder retainer]]) and Hispanic-Americans (Bumblebee Man is a parody of how Americans see Mexican TV shows and Dr. Nick is pretty much the worst doctor ever), to some extent[[/note]]. His stereotypical nature is highlighted in [[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E12TeamHomer "Team Homer"]] where his bowling team loses to another one called "The Stereotypes", made up of [[DeepSouth Cletus,]] [[RambunctiousItalian Luigi,]] [[TalkLikeAPirate The Sea Captain,]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian Groundskeeper Willie.]]
** In season 29's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS29E15NoGoodReadGoesUnpunished No Good Read Goes Unpunished]]", [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Marge rediscovers her favorite childhood book, but becoming alarmed by its overt xenophobia.]] When she wonders whether she can still like it, Lisa looks at the viewer and says, [[AsideComment "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?"]] [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall panning to a photo of Apu afterward.]] The fact that this was said ''directly'' to the audience ticked many viewers off, and Creator/HankAzaria [[CreatorBacklash admitted that he hated how dismissive the show was about the criticisms of Apu]]. In 2019, Azaria announced he would stop voicing the character and that an actor of Hindi descent would be selected to take over the role.

* Lisa, in comparison, is much beloved in Japan, but has amassed a very strong dislike amongst American (and, to a lesser extent, other Western) viewers. She started out as the intelligent, hard-working, "respectable" sibling, and those traits are why she is still beloved in Japan, but over the seasons became an obnoxious SoapboxSadie, if not a CreatorsPet, with Western viewers taking offense to her increasingly preachy left-winger characterization.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E10Springfield $pringfield]]": Was Homer teaching Maggie to gamble supposed to come as a shock? If so, it'd be lost on a British audience. British gambling laws allow minors to gamble, albeit on arcade games that dispense tokens and/or tickets to the winners. It's kind of like what America has with Chuck E. Cheese, Dave & Busters, and other "family fun center" places which combine a restaurant with an arcade. In fact, gambling with real money (albeit small stakes) is not only legal in parts of the UK and Europe, but it's a normal part of growing up, teaching kids the valuable lesson of "Don't bet what you can't lose". In America, gambling on ''anything'' with real money has a hard minimum age of 21 years old; anyone caught gambling underage would be ejected and banned from the premises, at best. A parent teaching their kid to gamble in a casino could easily end up going to jail for it.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E23MuchApuAboutNothing Much Apu About Nothing]]", as Apu takes his citizenship exam, he's asked what was the cause of the American Civil War, with Apu elaborating on several different issues before the proctor tells him "Just say slavery". At the time, this was meant to be a joke about the general ignorance of Americans and how the war was believed to have many nuanced issues that started it, but nowadays, historians agree that slavery was the sole cause of the war, as the "lost cause" myth has been discredited.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS9E24LostOurLisa Lost Our Lisa]]", Lenny and Carl call out Homer as a bad parent because he gave permission for Lisa, who is just eight years old, to use public transportation on her own. In parts of the Old World, this would simply be a commonplace event, but not so elsewhere.
** Public transport in Australia does not allow children under the age of 13 to ride alone, and will usually result in the police being contacted[[note]]in February 2019, a nine-year-old boy was arrested for riding the Glenelg tram in Adelaide without a ticket or parent supervision, and constantly lying to drivers that his parents would be at the next stop[[/note]]. Bus drivers are also ''required'' to help people who are lost, and are only allowed to abandon disruptive passengers (but this is sadly not enforced).
* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E12TeamHomer Team Homer]]", Springfield Elementary institutes school uniforms, which are shown to be [[AntiSchoolUniformsPlot soul-crushing and reduce the kids to listless and depressed zombies in a matter of days]]. Since in many countries outside North America almost all schools use uniforms, audiences in those countries found this puzzling and humorous.
* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E19SweetSeymourSkinnersBaadasssssSong Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song]]", Ned Flanders replaces Skinner as the school principal. Flanders's lenient nature causes the school to descend into utter chaos which Superintendent Chalmers ignores... until he hears Flanders saying "let's thank the Lord for another beautiful school day" over the intercom, after which he immediately fires Flanders. While most nations do believe in separation of church and state, especially in regards to education, in the United States, prayer of any sort of religion endorsed by a teacher of a public school is illegal. European viewers wondered what the deal was, or found it amusing that Flanders was fired over that of all things. That said, even in America the joke was that Chalmers was [[FelonyMisdemeanor overreacting to a relatively benign offense]].
** During his suspension, Principal Skinner spends time with Bart, who is a student, to the point of taking him to an Italian restaurant for dinner. Nowadays with so many teachers both male and female being arrested and/or fired for having inappropriate relationships with underage students, teacher-student outings like this wouldn't be permitted without consent from the student's parent(s) or legal guardian(s)
* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E10Springfield $pringfield]]": Was Homer teaching Maggie to gamble supposed to come as a shock? If so it'd be lost on a British audience. British gambling laws allow minors to gamble, albeit on arcade games that dispense tokens and/or tickets to the winners, kind of like what America has with Chuck E. Cheese and Dave & Busters [[note]]For overseas readers, both Chuck E. Cheese and Dave & Busters are restaurants-cum-arcade centers, the only difference being Chuck E. Cheese is strictly for kids and Dave & Busters is for all ages.[[/note]].
** Unless it's by the seaside, in which case gambling with real money (albeit small stakes) is not only legal in the UK and parts of Europe but is a normal part of growing up, teaching kids the valuable lesson of "Don't bet what you can't lose".

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E19SweetSeymourSkinnersBaadasssssSong Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song]]", Flanders replaces Skinner as the school principal. Flanders 's lenient nature causes the school to descend into utter chaos which Superintendent Chalmers ignores... until he hears Flanders saying "let's thank the Lord for another beautiful school day" over the intercom, after which he immediately fires Flanders. While most nations do believe in separation of church and state, especially in regards to education, in the United States, prayer of any sort of religion endorsed by a teacher of a public school is illegal. European viewers wondered what the deal was, or found it amusing that Flanders was fired over that of all things. That said, even in America the joke was that Chalmers was [[FelonyMisdemeanor overreacting to a relatively benign offense]].

* In ''"Milhouse of Sand and Fog"'', Maggie gets chicken pox and Homer hosts a pox party. This practice isn't as used nowadays, as it can actually be dangerous if the kid isn't treated properly. More jarringly, this wasn't something [[LethallyStupid Homer]] came up with himself, ''[[GoodParents Ned Flanders]]'' suggested it.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E25SummerOf4Ft2 Summer of 4 Ft. 2]]" a depressed Lisa sighs that her only friends are writers like Creator/GoreVidal, "and even he's kissed more boys than I ever will." Marge quickly tells her that boys kiss ''girls''. When the episode first aired in 1996, it was common to portray a character uncomfortable with mentioning homosexuality as just slightly behind the times or clueless (or both -- part of the joke is that Marge has no idea who Vidal is[[note]]he wasn't the type who liked to label his sexuality, but "not hetero" is the consensus[[/note]]). To a modern viewer, it is quite startling to hear such a homophobic comment from someone like Marge, even moreso to have it go unchallenged. Stranger still, less than one year later, the episode "Homer's Phobia" had Marge have no problem with homosexuality at all.

* In "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", "$pringfield", and "The Otto Show", the term "gypped" (meaning "ripped off") is used. In modern times, the term has fallen into disuse nowadays due to it stemming from the word "Gypsy", an anti-UsefulNotes/{{Romani}} slur.

* In the 2000s, the show got an Arabic dub, but significant changes were made. Since drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islamic countries, most references to liquor were cut or [[FrothyMugsOfWater changed to non-alcoholic beverages]] (Homer's precious Duff Beer was changed to Duff Soda) and references to pork chops and hot dogs (which aren't considered halal[[note]]the Islamic version of "kosher"[[/note]]) were changed to Egyptian beef sausages. Arabic fans of the show weren't impressed though with the "edited to conform to Islamic law" version, as they were used to seeing the series uncut with Arabic subtitles.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS7E25SummerOf4Ft2 Summer of 4 Ft. 2]]" a depressed Lisa sighs that her only friends are writers like Creator/GoreVidal, "and even he's kissed more boys than I ever will." Marge quickly tells her that boys kiss ''girls''. When the episode first aired in 1996, it was common to portray a character uncomfortable with mentioning homosexuality as just slightly behind the times or clueless (or both -- part of the joke is that Marge has no idea who Vidal is). To a modern viewer, it is quite startling to hear such a homophobic comment from someone like Marge, even moreso to have it go unchallenged. Stranger still, less than one year later, the episode "Homer's Phobia" had Marge have no problem with homosexuality at all.

* In "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS5E19SweetSeymourSkinnersBaadasssssSong Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song]]", Ned replaces Skinner as the school principal. Bart makes several attempts to get Flanders fired, but what finally does get him fired? Saying "bless the lord" over the intercom. While most nations do believe in separation of church and state, especially in regards to education, in the United States, prayer of any sort of religion endorsed by a teacher of a public school is illegal. European viewers wondered what the deal was, or found it amusing that Flanders was fired over that of all things. That said, even in America the joke was that Chalmers was [[FelonyMisdemeanor overreacting to a relatively benign offense]].

* Though it was never portrayed as acceptable on the show (since he's an UnsympatheticComedyProtagonist), Homer's frequent throttling of Bart, and Marge and Lisa [[BystanderSyndrome doing nothing to stop it]] (with Lisa even joining in sometimes), would be far less likely to be PlayedForLaughs today, in an era when awareness of abusive parenting and child abuse is higher than it's ever been. Even in recent episodes, there are still some scenes where Homer strangles Bart, albeit not as frequently as in the early-to-mid seasons (and the show's likely still doing this because [[GrandfatherClause it's been a staple of the series since Season 1]]).

** This was addressed in season 29's "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS29E15NoGoodReadGoesUnpunished No Good Read Goes Unpunished]]" [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything with Marge rediscovering her favorite childhood book, but becoming alarmed by its overt xenophobia.]] When she wonders whether she can still like it, Lisa looks at the viewer and says, [[AsideComment "Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?"]] [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall panning to a photo of Apu afterward.]] The fact that this was said ''directly'' to the audience ticked many viewers off, and Creator/HankAzaria [[CreatorBacklash admitted that he hated how dismissive the show was about the criticisms of Apu]]. In 2019, Azaria announced he would stop voicing the character and that an actor of Hindi descent would be selected to take over the role.