May 03, 2018 at 12:00 am

Priyanka Chopra Was Bullied as a Kid Because of 'The Simpsons' Character Apu

Priyanka Chopra steps out for her appearance on The View on Thursday morning (May 3) in New York City.

The 35-year-old Quantico actress also did some other press appearances that day.

During her interview on The View, Priyanka discussed the controversy surrounding The Simpsons character Apu and how she was affected by the cartoon character as a kid.

“He was the bane of my life growing up, for sure,” Priyanka said about the character. She added, “A lot of people are talking about, ‘Oh, the show was so successful for 30 years, why are we suddenly waking up and being offended by a character that everyone loved?’”

Priyanka pointed out how when the show started, all the characters looked yellow except Apu and he also had the accent. She added, “What happened from that time to now, the population of Indian Americans has tripled. So the voice is louder. Representation for people of color is louder. There’s the Internet and the media, where people can have a conversation.”

“I was always asked when I was in high school at 14, 15, why I didn’t speak like that. Or are my parents doctors (which they are)? Did I find gold in my rivers? Did I go to school on elephants? I always had questions like that,” Priyanka said. “So I think, yes, it is a time where, why try to erase stereotype? Yes, it is a cartoon. Yes, it’s a pop culturally super successful show. But that gives it more responsibility. It’s out of date on so many levels.”