The Simpsons is one of the most prolific TV shows on air, but in recent times it's become the subject of a long-running debate regarding the racial stereotyping of one of its recurring characters - Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.
Wading in on the argument is none other than the voice of Springfield gangster Fat Tony. 71-year-old Joe Mantegna - who has been voicing the character for decades - admitted that it's a 'tough one to address', adding that in the case of this controversy he thinks it's perhaps political correctness gone 'too far'.
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When the Apu debate was brought up, Mantegna told The Metro: "I find some of that controversy... sometimes I feel we've taken political correctness perhaps too far I'm not a big advocate of censorship.
"Times have changed, but in some ways we're going backwards. They're just words and if you start censoring certain things you give them a power.
"Now you're saying this is a magical kind of thing and you can't touch that, you can't say that. As opposed to just saying you have to be smart enough to understand we can do satire and say words... I think they're putting braces on people's minds."
The Criminal Minds actor added that while he believes everything should be done in good taste, he's not for 'the idea of saying this word is forbidden and shouldn't come out of anybody's mouth'.
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"As an actor, words are my tools, if you start taking my tools away you're turning people into mutes. You either have total freedom or you don't."
Many have pointed out that Mantegna's approach to the ongoing debate is slightly less contentious than The Simpson creator Matt Groening's attitude to the whole thing.
Speaking out back in July to the New York Times, the 64-year-old said: "Well, I love Apu. I love the character, and it makes me feel bad that it makes other people feel bad.
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"But on the other hand, it's tainted now - the conversation, there's no nuance to the conversation now. It seems very, very clunky. I love the character. I love the show."
Earlier on, the show also used episode "No Good Read Goes Unpunished" to address the allegations that arose from the film The Problem with Apu.
The controversy really heated up following the 2017 documentary by Indian-American comedian Hari Kondabolu, in which he said he described the character as a tired stereotype that has worked its way deep into modern society's conscience.
At the time of its release, Hank Azaria - the white actor who plays Apu - said: "I think the documentary made some really interesting points and gave us a lot of things to think about and we really are thinking about it.
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"Definitely anybody that was hurt or offended by it, or by any character or vocal performance, it's really upsetting that it was offensive or hurtful to anybody."
Following the backlash, producer of the long-running show, Adi Shankar, announced they would drop the character altogether, telling Indiewire: "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."
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