The Simpsons recasts a second character voiced by Hank Azaria

The Simpsons recasts a second character voiced by Hank Azaria: Marge’s gay Cuban hairdresser Julio will now be played by actor Tony Rodriguez

The Simpsons has recast another character voiced by Hank Azaria after the show has come under fire for its stereotypical portrayal of minorities
Marge’s gay Cuban hairdresser Julio will now be played by gay Cuban actor Tony Rodriguez
Last year the long running cartoon stopped Azaria from voicing the role of Indian convenience store owner Apu; he has not be recast
Hank Azaria recently apologized to Indian-Americans for his portrayal of Apu saying ‘I needed to shut up… and listen and learn. And that took a while’
In September 2020, The Simpsons also replaced Azaria as the voice of Homer’s co-worker Carl Carlson, who is black, with actor Alex Désert

A second Simpsons character voiced by actor Hank Azaria, 56, has been recast following criticism of how the iconic cartoon portrays minorities.

Marge’s gay Cuban hairdresser, Julio, is now being voiced by an actor far closer to the role in real life, Tony Rodriguez, who is both gay and of Cuban descent.

Last year Azaria stopped voicing Indian Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu after nearly 30 years after he’d come under fire for being offensively stereotypical. He was also later replaced by actor Alex Désert in the role of Homer’s pal Carl Carlson.

Making changes: A second Simpsons character voiced by actor Hank Azaria, 56, has been recast; Marge’s gay Cuban hairdresser, Julio, is now being voiced by Tony Rodriguez

Tony Rodriguez quietly made his debut on The Simpsons at the end of March and took to Instagram to express his joy over the role.

‘Tonight I make my debut on The Simpsons as gay, Cuban Julio,’ Tony captioned his post. ‘This is a dream come true for me and I was already a living cartoon.’

The relatively unknown actor had previously made a bid to play the role in an Instagram video noting the similarities between himself and the character.

‘In the past two years, I have seen myself more in the show, and by that, I mean specifically the part of Julio, who is gay like me, he’s Cuban like me,’ he said in the video.

‘In the past two years, I have seen myself more in the show, and by that, I mean specifically the part of Julio, who is gay like me, he’s Cuban like me,’ Rodriguez once said on Instagram

His casting comes as the series, which premiered in 1989, is facing major backlash over how it has portrayed minorities in the last several decades that The Simpsons has been on the air.

Specifically, many called on the show to replace the white actors who voice BIPOC characters, which producers finally agreed to do.

Earlier this month Hank Azaria apologized to ‘every single Indian person in this country’ for voicing Indian convenience store owner Apu.

In an interview with the Armchair Expert podcast, Azaria has said the character show had contributed to ‘structural racism’ and that he hadn’t known any better during the nearly 30 years he voiced the character.

Mea culpa: Earlier this month Hank Azaria apologized to ‘every single Indian person in this country’ for voicing Indian convenience store owner Apu on The Simpsons for nearly 30 years

When Apu was called out for promoting racist stereotypes in the 2017 documentary The Problem With Apu, Azaria and the show’s creators appeared to shrug off the criticism.

Addressing the controversy in an episode the following year, Lisa Simpson asks ‘what can you do’ when a character which had been beloved for decades had suddenly become politically incorrect.

However, Azaria, says since then he has listened to the concerns of Indian-Americans and came to realize that Apu was a problem.

‘I needed to shut up… and listen and learn. And that took a while,’ he said. ‘This was not a two-week process: I needed to educate myself a lot.’

‘I really didn’t know any better. I didn’t think about it. I was unware how much relative advantage I had received in this country as a white kid from Queens.’ he reflected on the podcast.

Adding: ‘Just because there were good intentions it doesn’t mean there weren’t real negative consequences to the thing that I am accountable for.’

The role of Apu has yet to be recast, however, Simpsons creator Matt Groening revealed the character will return in some way in future seasons.

‘We’ve got plans for Apu, but we have to see if we can make the stories work,’ he told USA Today in March, adding that he had not yet recast the role. ‘We’re working on something kind of ambitious. That’s all I can say.’

Future: The role of Apu has yet to be recast, however, Simpsons creator Matt Groening revealed in March that he has ‘big plans’ for the character in future seasons

‘I think the Apu stories are fantastic, and he’s one of the most nuanced characters on a silly two-dimensional cartoon show,’ Matt continued. ‘So, yeah, I’m proud of Apu. (Pause.) I’m trying not to open up another chasm of criticism, but it doesn’t matter what I say. I’ll get it anyway.’

Apu and Julio were not the only characters on the show, nor where they the only ones voiced by Hank Azaria, that critics took issue with.

Following the backlash, producers said that they would replace the white actors on the show who voiced non-white characters. In 2020, one of Azaria’s other characters, Carl Carlson, was replaced with actor Alex Désert.

Righting wrongs: In 2020, one of Azaria’s other characters, Carl Carlson, was replaced with actor Alex Désert

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