Posted on 02/23/2021 6:43:42 AM PST by Red Badger
Kevin Michael Richardson will take over the role of Dr. Julius Hibbert in future episodes of the show. The Simpsons is making another move to diversify its voice cast.
Harry Shearer, a member of the long-running Fox animated series' core cast, will stop voicing Dr. Julius Hibbert, who is Black, on the show. Sunday's episode, "DiaryQueen," featured Shearer providing the character's voice for the final time.
Starting with the Feb. 28 episode, "Wad Goals," Kevin Michael Richardson will take over as Dr. Hibbert. Richardson is a prolific voice actor who has worked on more than 70 Simpsons episodes in the past; his credits also include Family Guy, American Dad and F Is for Family.
Richardson's casting follows that of Alex Désert as Homer's (Dan Castellaneta) co-worker Carl Carlson (previously played by Hank Azaria) and Jenny Yokobori as Kumiko Albertson (previously voiced by Tress MacNeille), the wife of Comic Book Guy.
It also further makes good on a statement Simpsons producers made in June 2020, when they said that "Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters."
That statement came as the animation industry faced a reckoning over its record of inclusivity in the face of widespread social and racial justice protests last summer. Animated series including Netflix's Big Mouth and Apple's Central Park also made moves to recast BIPOC characters with actors of color, and Family Guy regular Mike Henry said he would no longer voice the character of Cleveland Brown, who's Black, on the show.
It also represented a major shift for The Simpsons, which for years had faced calls for a South Asian actor take over the role of Apu from Azaria (the character is the subject of The Problem With Apu, a 2017 documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu). Azaria has since stopped voicing Apu but continued to do voices for Carl and Springfield police officer Lou, who are Black, and Hispanic character Bumblebee Man. Shearer, meanwhile, had played Dr. Hibbert, who's Black, for the show's entire run. MacNeille has also voiced several non-white characters, including Apu's wife, Manjula.
Vulture first reported the news.
Last I heard this may be the last season of the show so this really doesn’t matter much.
If it’s the final season this move might help. Good guys could maintain that virtue signaling closed it down when it was just ended from hanging around too long.
Yes, THAT is now ensconced in the “New York Times Style Book” that ALL journalists MUST adhere to..................or else..............
What a joke. A big part of the appeal of the Simpsons was that they had a cast of about 5 great comedians who could voice the whole town and every character was still distinctive.
At least they’re doing this stupidity when the show is a fossil that nobody watches anymore. All the classic episodes will forever be with the real cast who made the show great, not these PC-mandated replacements.
It’s bad enough that blacks like Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemimia are being erased and furthering the segregation of advertising characters now the Simpson’s Carl has lost his voice.
If the Hollywoodreporter didn’t report it would anyone know nope it’s all about the race obsession they have.
Shallow people do shallow things.
The original guys were white so I bet they won’t be b’casted anymore.
Yep.
I used to watch cartoons. Then I turned seven.
>>A big part of the appeal of the Simpsons was that they had a cast of about 5 great comedians who could voice the whole town and every character was still distinctive.
unless you are a “star” (like the box office names who voice the main characters in animated feature films) Hollywood can get 3 voices from a voice actor for one price. That is unless the scale has changed.
I stopped watching after Phill Hartman died. None of the Fox Animation domination is worth a crap. The only bright spot is MeTV brought back Bugs Bunny!
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