The Simpsons Makers Will Not Hire White Actors For BIPOC Characters

  • AUTHOR: dua
  • POSTED ON: June 30, 2020

The Simpsons is ready for some change!


Black Lives Matter is receiving global attention at the moment, which is why it seems that Hollywood is finally ready to acknowledge the systemic racism that exists behind screens. Individuals and companies are being called out for their racist attitude and approach to work. People are being questioned on their deep-seated racist views.


Hence, understanding the changing dynamics of the industry, The Simpsons has made some changes to the program as well. On Friday the producers of the show released a statement. They said, "Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have White actors voice non-White characters."


In the last few weeks, many shows and industry insiders have made adjustments to their content. For example, several episodes of 30 Rocks were pulled from streaming as the actors were shown in Blackface.


Additionally, Big Mouth and Central Park are changing up the cast and hiring people of color to play BIPOC characters. These characters were previously voiced by white women. Jenny Slate was amongst the first white women who voluntarily stepped down from her role of Missy on Big Mouth. A few hours later, Kristen Bell also dropped out from voicing a biracial character Molly on Apple TV+ series.


The Simpsons – a show that has time and again struggled with issues concerning its stereotypical and somewhat racist representation, has also decided to take action for once. The character Apu in The Simpson has always been under fire for its exaggerated accent and day job running a convenience store. The character has impacted the self-esteem of many South Asian descendants and troubled them with identity problems.


Family Guy has also made changes to its cast as Mike Henry will no longer voice the character of Cleveland who is actually black. 

 

Updated June 30, 2020
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