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Voice Actor Mike Henry Will No Longer Play Family Guy's Cleveland Brown & 'The Simpsons' Are Recasting Characters of Color

Voice Actor Mike Henry Will No Longer Play Family Guy's Cleveland Brown & 'The Simpsons' Are Recasting Characters of Color

Major changes are on the way for both Family Guy and The Simpsons.

First, Mike Henry has stepped back from voicing Cleveland Brown, one of Peter Griffin’s neighbors and friends, and one of the few Black characters on the show.

“It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years,” the actor shared on Twitter. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role.”

Additionally, The Simpsons announced Friday (June 26) that they’ll no longer use White actors to play characters of color on the long-running animated series and have made the decision to recast those already voicing characters of color.

“Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have White actors voice non-White characters,” the show said in a statement.

The issue with The Simpsons having White actors play non-white characters was brought to light with Apu, the show’s Indian Kwik-E-Mart proprietor, in 2017.

Hank Azaria, who voiced the character since the start of the series, has stepped back from voicing him.

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Photos: FoxFox
Posted to: Family Guy, Television, The Simpsons