Voice actor confirms he will stop playing Indian immigrant store owner, following controversy and accusations of racism.

In Springfield, home to the yellow-hued satirical dysfunctional family for the past 30 years, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is an Indian migrant who owns a convenience store, the Kwik-E-Mart. Azaria, who also voices characters such as bar owner Moe Szyslak, Comic Book Guy and police chief Clancy Wiggum, is white.

`All we know there is I won't be doing the voice any more, unless there's some way to transition it or something,` Azaria said, according to Slashfilm. `We all made the decision together. We all agreed on it. We all feel like it's the right thing and good about it.` Referring to the show's makers, he added: `What they're going to do with the character is their call. It's up to them and they haven't sorted it out yet. All we've agreed on is I won't do the voice anymore.`

View this post on Instagram

Hank Azaria is done voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on #TheSimpsons. The actor opens up about his decision at the link in bio. Photo: @gettyentertainment

A post shared by Hollywood Reporter (@hollywoodreporter) on Feb 25, 2020 at 11:34am PST

In the three decades that he has been a voice actor on `The Simpsons,` Hank Azaria has played dozens of Springfield's absurd denizens on that long-running animated Fox comedy, including the surly bartender Moe, the inept lawman Chief Wiggum and the adenoidal bookworm Professor Frink.