Posted on 06/26/2020 3:24:14 PM PDT by EdnaMode
Mike Henry is exiting his role as Cleveland Brown on “Family Guy.”
Henry made the announcement Friday on Twitter. “It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years,” he wrote. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role.”
Henry has been with “Family Guy” its first season in 1999. In addition to Cleveland, he also voices Consuela, a Latina maid, on the long-running animated series in addition to numerous other minor characters. Henry also voiced Cleveland and his Black stepson, Rallo Tubbs, on the spin-off series “The Cleveland Show,” which aired on Fox for four seasons from 2009 to 2013.
He is now the latest white actor to announce they will no longer voice a character of color on an animated show. Jenny Slate announced on Wednesday that she would no longer play the biracial character Missy on the popular Netflix show “Big Mouth.” Not long after that, Kristen Bell announced she would be stepping down from her role as a biracial character in the upcoming Apple animated series “Central Park.”
Back in January, Hank Azaria said he would no longer voice the Indian character Apu on “The Simpsons.” Calls for Azaria, who like Brown has voiced the character for decades, to stop playing Apu intensified in 2017 after comedian Hari Kondabolu released the documentary “The Problem With Apu.” The doc explored how people of South Asian descent felt about growing up with Apu as one of their only representatives on American television.
Mike Henry
@mikehenrybro
It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years. I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role.
At least it looks like the leftish press is permitting the use of “Black” (capitalized) instead of the obsolete “African-American”. One small step for language.
It's too bad Don Knotts isn't still around (or is he?). He'd make a great Darth Vader.
African American Lives Matter doesn’t have that ring.
And homos can only play homos.
(Is the "new" Democrat/Left America great or what?!!!!)
Exactly.
You mean like the deliberately wrong “Hamilton”?
I like things accurate, but voices don’t matter so much. The look is important, though.
“Family Guy” is I believe, the most evil show I have ever seen. It pushes every hard core leftist and Satanic idea there is.
Yes, but they were able to adjust Paul Muni and Luise Rainer a bit to make it more believable. It’d be hard to adjust a black to a yellow, etc.
People don’t seem to have an issue with the fact the “Les Miserables” is entirely performed in English, instead of French.
That was just excessive, I must admit. And I love Mickey.
It’s a cartoon you idiot!
I demand a real rabbit play the role of bugs bunny!
In related news, Mel Blanc stepped down from his role as Bugs Bunny, apologizing for not letting a rabbit voice the character.
LOL well, make a concession for us uneducated.
Notice how anything ancient, esp. Roman, etc always, must be English actors with English accents. I guess it’s more authentic to have Brits doing Romans and Greeks and Judeans.
Eddie knew to get out of doing comedy before the PC Police came along.
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