Racist Argentine TV Channel Compares PM Modi To Simpsons Cartoon Character Apu
Argentina news channel Cronica TV has come under fire for using a racist image of the Simpsons character Apu as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Buenos Aires. Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has been part of the animation series since 1990 and speaks thick Indian accent. The character itself has been criticised as a stereotype of the Indian-American community and the decision to use it to describe Modis arrival has kicked up a storm.
Cronica TV, an Argentine news channel has come under fire after it announced the arrival of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Buenos Aires for the G20 summit with an image of the Simpsons character.
The new channels used the headline "Apu arrives" as the Indian PM's plane touched down in the Argentine capital along with the image of Appu, a character that portrays an Indian shopkeeper.
The character, Apu Nahasapeemapetilon has been part of the animation series since 1990 and speaks thick Indian accent.
The character itself has been criticised as a stereotype of the Indian-American community, and the Argentine channel's decision to use it to describe Modi's arrival has kicked up a storm, with many condemning the portrayal as racist.
This Channel is a joke even here in Argentina, we truly apologize for this discriminatory joke and you people from India are totally welcome if you want to laugh at our president, even if he is a joke himself. pic.twitter.com/Ylb5KJyHie
¡ª f e d e (@fede_arroyo) November 30, 2018
This couldn¡¯t be true, right? https://t.co/xiEzNgpXip
¡ª Hari Kondabolu (@harikondabolu) November 30, 2018
#CronicaTV, local #Argentina channel, used the headline "Apu arrives" as the #Indian PM's plane touched down for the #G20Summit2018. Highly disrespectful to a state leader. Shame! How ignorant about #Apu! ?@mauriciomacri? take note! https://t.co/S4607AvyYV
¡ª Ash Forth (@ForthAsh) December 1, 2018
Hi, @PMOIndia !
¡ª ?? ?????? ?? #VSGT (@2Suhana25) November 30, 2018
What's happening?
Argentine TV @CronicaTV displays this racist image with the headline ¡°Apu Arrived¡± as India Prime Minister @narendramodi arrives in Buenos Aires for the #G20Summit#VSGT pic.twitter.com/eLVmFs8K9I
An Argentine news channel has come under fire for displaying an image of the Simpsons character Apu as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Buenos Aires.
¡ª SirChuks (@occp1967) November 30, 2018
Cronica TV used the headline "Apu arrives" as the Indian PM's plane touched down for the G20 summit. pic.twitter.com/5YplP8jNia
WhiteSupremacism 101 https://t.co/WLYmnvXFQC
¡ª ??PikaChu 007 (@ZlatanicPikaChu) November 30, 2018
It is condemn able https://t.co/NuIAeqITJ7
¡ª Syed Mohsin (@AAPkamohsin) November 30, 2018
Bobins Abraham is the Assistant News Editor at Indiatimes. He has more than twelve years of experience in TV and digital journalism. An avid student of history and geopolitics, he is a conservationist and environmentalist at heart. He writes on environment, sustainability, human-animal conflict and more.
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