The Simpsons will no longer cast white actors in non-white roles, Family Guy's Cleveland steps down

Henry’s statement lines up with similar comments made earlier this week by both Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell, who announced that they’d no longer be playing Black or biracial characters on Big Mouth or Central Park, respectively. So far, there’s no word yet on whether Family Guy itself will follow Henry’s lead and take a similar pledge to no longer feature any white actors in non-white roles.

Meanwhile, it’s not clear yet what this decision will mean for The Simpsons. Pretty much every Black or otherwise non-white character in the show’s roster of regular Springfield citizens—including Carl, Dr. Hibbert, Lou the policeman, fourth grade student Lewis, Bumblebee Man, Judge Snyder, Akira, and more—has been voiced by a white actor, most frequently Hank Azaria or Harry Shearer. When this issue came up in regards to Azaria voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, of course, the show responded by essentially retiring the character, confining him to background roles. It’s not at all obvious how it’ll handle doing the same with pretty much every Black regular on its roster, or whether it’s finally time for the show to have a non-white person among its regular cast.