Read on to find out how the show has changed\u2026<\/p>\n
Homer no longer strangles Bart<\/strong><\/p>\n Since the early days of The Simpsons<\/em>, Homer has been strangling Bart when he’s angry as part of a long-running bit. Through the years, the gag hasn’t gone over well with some viewers, who were opposed to the depiction of child abuse on television — even if it was part of an animated joke.<\/p>\n In recent seasons, the team behind the show has hinted at the idea that Homer has felt remorse for his ways, even showing him going to therapy during a season 22 episode. While he learned of the harm he was causing by attacking Bart, Homer was later seen choking his son on several other occasions. But it all seemingly stopped during the show’s 31st season.<\/p>\n Although many viewers didn’t notice the end of the gag, it became clear that Homer had changed his ways for good during a season 35 episode titled “McMansion & Wife.” When a new neighbor points out Homer has a firm handshake, he credits it to years of strangling his son — which he no longer does.<\/p>\n “See, Marge, strangling the boy paid off,” Homer says in the episode before adding, “Just kidding, I don’t do that anymore. Times have changed.”<\/p>\n Apu is portrayed without harmful stereotypes<\/strong><\/p>\n Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has been a key member of The Simpsons<\/em> since the very beginning, and for many years was one of the only Indian animated characters represented on television. But recently, Apu’s characterization of Indians has been deemed problematic and made major headlines. Not only was Apu voiced by Hank Azaria<\/strong>, a white actor, but his on-screen actions also played into a lot of harmful racial stereotypes.<\/p>\n Backlash surrounding the character came to a head with the 2017 release of the comedian Hari Kondabolu’s documentary, The Problem With Apu<\/em>. After highlighting that Apu actually contributed to the negative depiction of Indians and made things harder for Indian actors, Hank decided to apologize and step down from his role.<\/p>\n “I really didn’t know any better. I didn’t think about it. I was unaware how much relative advantage I had received in this country as a white kid from Queens. Just because there were good intentions, it doesn’t mean there weren’t real negative consequences to the thing that I am accountable for,” Hank said during an appearance on the Armchair Expert<\/strong><\/em> podcast.<\/p>\n During a later appearance on NPR’s podcast, <\/strong>Code Switch<\/strong><\/em>, Hank called his casting “embarrassing” and acknowledged that he “helped to create a pretty marginalizing, dehumanizing stereotype.”<\/p>\n While Apu has continued to appear on The Simpsons<\/em>, he has been seen less frequently and a voice actor has not been recast.<\/p>\n White actors no longer voice non-white characters<\/strong><\/p>\n In 2020, the team behind The Simpsons<\/strong><\/em> announced<\/strong> that they would “no longer have white actors voice non-white characters.” The decision came just a few months after Hank shared that he would be stepping down from his role as Apu.<\/p>\n With the news came the need for several characters to be recast. That included Hank’s other role as Carlton Carlson, who was eventually replaced by voice actor Alex D\u00e9sert in 2020. Dr. Julius Hibbert’s voice actor, Harry Shearer, was also replaced, with Kevin Michael Richardson taking over the role in 2021.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/images.toofab.com\/image\/1a\/5by4\/2023\/11\/02\/1a803b295f6f4675a051deb6a1516504_xs.jpg\")
<\/p>\n 10 Unexpected Celebrity Cameos On The Simpsons <\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/images.toofab.com\/image\/13\/5by4\/2023\/01\/06\/13689081bc764b79919471e0ed3764d4_xs.jpg\")
<\/p>\n 11 Animated Characters You Probably Didn't Know Were Voiced By Celebrities <\/h4>\n
![](\"https:\/\/images.toofab.com\/image\/63\/4by3\/2023\/11\/10\/63e6fae39b374490b43ca0b3b8609b26_md.jpg\")