Matt Groening ‘proud’ of Apu from ‘The Simpsons’ despite controversy
racist stereotype.“I think the Apu stories are fantastic, and he’s one of the most nuanced characters on a silly two-dimensional cartoon show,” the show’s creator Groening told USA Today of the show’s Indian-American Kwik-E-Mart shopkeeper.“So, yeah, I’m proud of Apu,” he insisted.“We’ve got plans for Apu, but we have to see if we can make the stories work … We’re working on something kind of ambitious. That’s all I can say,” he teased fans in the interview.The 67-year-old cartoonist told the paper that he was “trying not to open up another chasm of criticism” in defending the character accused of reflecting racist stereotypes while voiced by a white actor.“But it doesn’t matter what I say.