Fox exec: Up to 'Simpsons' creators to handle Apu criticism
NEW YORK (AP) — Creators of "The Simpsons" have the freedom to handle the show's depiction of Indian shop owner Apu in the right way for their show, a top Fox executive said Thursday.
Apu, the Kwik-E-Mart clerk who has sold expired food and ripped off customers in the long-running animated Fox series, has come under fire as racist and stereotypical. The criticism flared after the recent release of the documentary "The Trouble with Apu."
"We have had conversations with (executive producer) Jim Brooks and his team, and basically we've left it up to them," Fox Television Group Chairman and CEO Dana Walden told a TV critics' meeting.