Culture

‘The Simpsons’ Will No Longer Have White Actors Voicing Non-White Characters

"All it took was 30 years, a documentary, more relevant shows doing it first & a conversation about racism spurred by police brutality & murder."

by Rebecca Shaw  28 June 2020
The Simpsons

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After years of public pressure, The Simpsons producers have released a statement confirming that moving forward, the show ‘will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters.’ 

For years The Simpsons has been under pressure about depictions of their non-white characters, especially Apu, traditionally voiced by Hank Azaria. A light was shone on this issue again in 2017 following the release of a documentary by Hari Kondabolu called The Problem with Apu, and Azaria announced earlier this year that he would no longer be voicing that character. Now, following a huge cultural moment around racism, police brutality, and representation, the show finally confirmed that no white actors on the show will be voicing non-white characters moving forward.

There was no further elaboration, and it’s unclear if the characters will be recast with other actors, or if they will be written off the show, but it’s a first (very slow) step. It follows an announcement by several white voice actors that they no longer felt comfortable voicing their characters. Showing that this is an issue that has spanned decades, it included Mike Henry, who has voiced Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years.

But it also included Kristen Bell, who was cast to voice a mixed-race character on the brand new animated series Central Park.

Jenny Slate, who voices ‘Missy’ on Big Mouth, also released a statement saying she would no longer continue.

It’s definitely a step in the right direction, but reacting to the news, Hari Kondabolu had a few choice words for the show’s timing.