The Simpsons Will No Longer Have Characters of Color Voiced by White Actors
The Simpsons is the latest show to make big changes to its cast amid ongoing Black Lives Matter protests and a reckoning in entertainment and other industries over acts of systemic racism and white supremacy.
Over the last 30 years, the popular animated series has used white actors to play a number of characters of color including Apu, Carl, Dr. Hibbert, Lou the policeman, Judge Snyder, and Akira. But that's all about to change after producers announced that they will no longer be using white actors to voice people of color.
"Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice nonwhite characters," Fox spokesman Les Eisner said in a statement Friday, June 26, per Buzzfeed.
The Simpsons has been subject to heavy criticism for years, most notably over Hank Azaria's voicing the Indian character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, which was the subject of the acclaimed documentary The Problem With Apu back in 2017.
This January, Azaria announced he would no longer voice the character after 30 years. Now The Simpsons is finally following suit for the rest of its cast.
Meanwhile, Mike Henry—who has voiced the Black character Cleveland Brown for more than 20 years on both Family Guy and The Cleveland Show—has announced he’s stepping down from the role effective immediately.
"I love this character," he wrote on Twitter, "but persons of color should play characters of color."
As of right now, it's unclear whether Family Guy plans make the same pledge as The Simpsons by no longer featuring any white actors in nonwhite roles. However, Henry’s statement comes in the wake of both Kristen Bell's and Jenny Slate's announcements that they would no longer voice their respective Black characters on Central Park and Netflix's Big Mouth.
Slate confirmed her decision on June 25, writing, "I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play ‘Missy’ because her mom is Jewish and white—as I am. But ‘Missy’ is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people."
A few hours later, Bell, who voiced a mixed-race character named Molly on Central Park, released a statement from the Apple TV+ series on her own via Instagram, acknowledging her act of "complicity" and "lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege."
"I am happy to relinquish this role to someone who can give a much more accurate portrayal, and I will commit to learning, growing and doing my part for equality and inclusion," the actor wrote in the caption.
Originally Appeared on Glamour
