Another reason why I don't like that statement is that it is not Apu who is addressing the audience. He is not even there in person. Yes, having him defend himself would have dealt with the topic only within the Simpsons universe, and it’s something that should be written very carefully. But on the other hand, choosing a white (erm, yellow) character to deliver the message with no PoC in the scene feels… bad? In a “stay away Apu, let us do the talk” kind of way?

And the authors chose Lisa as their alter ego, but she has never sounded so out of character. They chose her because they see her as “the voice of reason”. It’s a rhetorical tool: “she’s the smart one, and she’s on our side”. But Lisa is the sound of reason only in the irrationality of Springfield; other than that, she's wrong a lot of times.

So the authors do not seem to get Lisa’s defining qualities as a character – but honestly they haven’t done it in the last 15 years.