John Cleese mocks The Simpsons actor Hank Azaria’s recent apology for the Apu character by jokingly apologizing for Monty Python’s previous sketches.
Azaria was at the heart of controversy in 2017 when a documentary sparked a conversation about him, a white person, who had been speaking out on the Indian-American character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon since 1989. The actor recently appeared on the “Armchair Expert” podcast where he apologized and expressed how much guilt he feels that so many Indian-Americans have been negatively affected by his actions.
On Tuesday, Cleese took to Twitter to take a slight jerk at Azaria because he feels he should apologize.
“Because I do not want to be left behind by Hank Azaria, I would like to apologize on behalf of Monty Python for all the many sketches we have made with the mockery of white English people,” Cleese joked. “We are sorry for the distress we have caused.”
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The 81-year-old comedian regularly uses his Twitter to ‘cancel culture’ and recently mocked ‘wokeism’ as ‘idiocy’ in response to a fan.
“Start as a good idea – let’s be nice to people – and end as a humorless, sensual, literal attitude, attitude of idiocy,” he wrote.
Azaria, who has since said he will not speak to Apu as the show generally takes a stand against white actors who speak out as non-white characters, recently spoke to podcast presenters Dax Shepard and Monica Padman about the journey on which he learned to educate himself. the damage that Apu did to the Indian community.
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In addition to taking to heart the message behind Hari Kondabolu’s documentary, “The Problem With Apu”, Azaria said he was trying to talk to Indians to gain some perspective. He told the podcast host a story about a recent encounter with a young Indian boy who abandoned him.
John Cleese joked with Hank Azaria for apologizing for Apu’s interpretation of ‘The Simpsons’.
(Getty Images)
“I was talking to my son’s school, I was talking to the Indian kids there because I wanted to get their input,” Azaria (via The Hollywood Reporter) said. ” A 17-year-old … he’s never seen ‘The Simpsons’ before, but he knows what Apu means. This is virtually a slap in the face at this point. All he knows is that his people are being thought of and introduced to many people in this country. ‘
According to Vulture, at one point, the voice actor spoke directly to Padman, who is himself an Indian-American, during the lengthy interview to explain that he felt he hurt her and everyone like her with his portrayal.
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“I really apologize. I know you did not ask for it, but it is important. I apologize for my part in creating it and participating in it,” he said. ‘Part of me feels that I have to go to every Indian in this country and personally apologize, and sometimes I do when it comes. ‘
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The actor is now a proponent of providing diverse cast and writing rooms.