Producer Adi Shankar: I hear The Simpsons decided to quietly drop Apu

Indiewire

In April, the Indian-American movie producer launched a spec script contest to solve The Simpsons' "Apu problem." He has since found what he calls the "perfect script," one that won't apparently be produced. “I got some disheartening news back, that I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether,” Shankar tells Indiewire. “They aren’t going to make a big deal out of it, or anything like that, but they’ll drop him altogether just to avoid the controversy.” Asked to respond, a Fox spokesperson provided a cryptic response: “Apu appeared in the 10/14/18 episode ‘My Way or the Highway to Heaven.’” In the episode, Apu only appears in a single wide shot that showed dozens of characters gathered around God. Shankar says eliminating Apu is a mistake. “If you are a show about cultural commentary and you are too afraid to comment on the culture, especially when it’s a component of the culture you had a hand in creating, then you are a show about cowardice,” says Shankar. “It’s not a step forward, or step backwards, it’s just a massive step sideways."