The Simpsons stops using white actors to voice non-white characters
- by Lana Bennett
- in Life&Culture
- — Jun 29, 2020
It follows an announcement by several white voice actors that they no longer felt comfortable voicing their characters. "I love this character but people of color should play characters of color." .
A number of white actors have recently announced that they will step back from voicing non-white characters on animated shows.
TVNZ has followed United States platform Hulu in removing episodes of sitcom Scrubs in which characters appear in blackface, while 30 Rock creator and star Tina Fey asked all platforms that carry that show to remove episodes portraying the same offence.
More news: FA Cup results: Usual suspects sneak through to next roundOther white U.S. actors to announce that they will no longer be providing voiceovers for people of colour include Mike Henry and Kristen Bell.
"It's been an honour to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years", he wrote.
This all comes after actor Hank Azaria said that he would no longer voice the coloured character named Apu after voicing it for 30 years. "Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role", Henry said.
More news: Couple point guns at protesters in St Louis outside their mansionThe producers of "The Simpsons" said on Friday that they would stop using white actors to play non-white characters amid a broader discussion about systemic racism in the media and entertainment industry. Azaria left the show earlier this year after voicing that character (and many others) for the past 31 years and now the show will look to replace other character's voices with more race appropriate actors as well. "We all agreed on it", he said. I believe that as white people our humanity is compromised by unconsciously or consciously perpetuating the things we say we are against.
The show has faced lots of criticism over the years for its Bengal-born character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. 'Casting a mixed race character [with a] white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience, ' Bell said.
Soon after, a joint statement from Josh Gad and Kristen Bell, the co-creator and star of Apple TV+ animated comedy Central Park revealed that white actor Bell would no longer be voicing the biracial character of Molly on the show. For instance, Simpsons staple Harry Shearer provides the voice of the Bill Cosby-esque Dr. Julius Hibbert, who is Black.
More news: Xbox Series S could debut in August to put PS5 on noticeThe character, who is a convenience store owner with a comedic nature, can be seen as a racist stereotype.
