Hank Azaria's Stupid Apology

Hank Azaria should apologize for his apology. He did his job, he did it well, and he entertained the masses. Presumably, he got paid for it.
Image courtesy of Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Hank Azaria should apologize for his apology. He did his job, he did it well, and he entertained the masses.  Presumably, he got paid for it.  If he’s serious about apologizing he should give the money back to the producers of The Simpsons.  However, he is not.  He is virtue signaling before the cancel mob comes for him.  He’s managing a potential crisis and we are supposed to think he’s a hero for doing so.  He’s just trying to save his own skin.  No heroics there.  

Voice acting is the great equalizer because anyone can play any character and be anything. Women can voice young boys, such as the character of Bart Simpson being played by Nancy Cartwright and people of any age can voice characters of any age. For example, Scooby Doo characters have been mostly voiced by adults, Grey Delisle, Daphne’s current voice actress, is 47 years old and Velma is currently voiced by Kate Micucci who is 41.

Additionally, people of any race can voice characters of other races. Some great examples of the latter are Cree Summer who voiced Penny from the original Inspector Gadget Series and (also voiced Elmyra Duff from Tiny Toons Adventures), Hank Azaria who voiced Apu from The Simpsons, and Mary Elizabeth McGlynn who voiced Dr. Maheswaran (Connie’s Mom) on Steven Universe. The reason many actors and actresses can play these characters is because no one can see them—their voice IS the talent.

Which makes this controversy about whether people can play characters of the opposite race quite ridiculous. We cannot see the person playing the role and you can only notice their race if you obsessively look up the actors, so it shouldn’t matter. This is especially true if the role is a stereotype--then there seems to be a veneer of hypocrisy around it. Is it better or worse for the woke crowd if the stereotype is played by a person of the same race? At LOOR we argue it does not matter at all.

Why not?  Because the issue is talent, not race.  Americans talking about “cultural appropriation” is a laugh riot.  American culture is one giant melting pot of cultural appropriation—we used to take pride in that because it makes our nation what it is.  And, by the way, it encourages tolerance.

At LOOR, we are going to offend everyone, and we will tell you right now, on the front end, that we are not apologizing for it.  Get used to being offended.  You do not reform culture without ticking off a few media elites and their janitors. Even a little poke from truth hurts when you’ve rubbed your skin raw with lies. But that’s what it takes to be this easily offended.

If you are, however, do not fear limp wristed elites nor their janitorial staff and are accredited for investments of $50k or higher, HAVE WE GOT A DEAL FOR YOU!  Talk to us.  Let’s rock the boat.