In a recent interview with IndieWire, producer Adi Shankar had said that The Simpsons will be dropping character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon from the show.

The move comes following long-standing controversy regarding the Indian-American convenience store owner. Though the conversation regarding Apu’s portrayal on the show has been discussed, at length, over the years, it became heightened following the release of Hari Kondabolu’s documentary The Problem with Apu.

Shankar then created a spec script competition centered on the “Apu Problem,” hoping that the best script would inspire producers on The Simpsons to update the character with a more positive portrayal.

However, in conversation with IndieWire, Shankar said, “I got some disheartening news back, that I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether. They aren’t going to make a big deal out of it, or anything like that, but they’ll drop him altogether just to avoid the controversy.”

The sources in question, Shankar later confirmed, were two people working on The Simpsons directly, and a third who works with creator Matt Groening.

Shankar added that he believed removing Apu from the show was not the right decision. “If you are a show about cultural commentary and you are too afraid to comment on the culture, especially when it’s a component of the culture you had a hand in creating, then you are a show about cowardice. It’s not a step forward, or step backwards, it’s just a massive step sideways. After having read all these wonderful scripts, I feel like sidestepping this issue doesn’t solve it when the whole purpose of art, I would argue, is to bring us together.”

The winning script of Shankar’s competition will likely never make it to the show itself, but that hasn’t deterred him from releasing it. Shankar plans to edit and hone the script and release it via his YouTube channel, Bootleg Universe.

The Simpsons indirectly addressed the Apu backlash in an April episode. A scene between Marge and Lisa saw the two discuss how older media is viewed though a modern lens.

When Marge questioned what could be done, Lisa replied, “It’s hard to say. Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?” Lisa then looked at framed photograph of Apu, inscribed with the Bart Simpson catchphrase, “Don’t have a cow.”

IndieWire reached out to Fox regarding Shankar’s comments. In return, they provided the cryptic response, “Apu appeared in the 10/14/18 episode ‘My Way or the Highway to Heaven.’”