Hugo Rifkind bemoaned in "The Times" the prevalent attitude to create offense – nobody needs to be actually offended, the possibility that somebody might be offended is enough. He also points out that Apu is portrayed very positively – bar Lisa, he is smarter than everyone else, and that the show was much ruder about many other characters like Ned Flanders, Krusty and Groundskeeper Willie. On October 26, Adi Shankar stated in an interview with "IndieWire" that Apu would be leaving "The Simpsons". On October 29, executive producer Al Jean responded to the speculation and stated that "Adi Shankar does not speak for our show". On August 27, 2019, several sources reported that Groening had confirmed Apu's continued position on the show during the "Simpsons" panel at Disney's D23 Expo, telling a fan who asked whether or not Apu would remain "Yes. We love Apu. We're proud of Apu."