[ad_1]
Old Hibbert, Hibbert, new Hibbert.
Photo-Illustration: by Vulutre; Photos by Andy Kropa / Invision / AP / Shutterstock, FOX, Rob Latour / Invision / AP / Shutterstock
After more than 30 years of voicing a black character on The simpsons, White voice actor Harry Shearer steps back from role. According to a Fox rep, Shearer’s portrayal of the black character Dr. Hibbert in last night’s season 32 episode “Diary Queen” marked the last time he will voice the character. From the February 28 episode “Wad Goals”, Kevin Michael Richardson – who played a role in The simpsons since 2009 and has also voiced parts on Seth MacFarlane Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and american father – will definitely take over the role of Dr Hibbert. Shearer had played Hibbert from the show’s second season in 1990, until season 32 of the show currently airing; Prior to last night’s episode, he voiced the role in the episode “Podcast News,” which aired in November 2020. Shearer declined to comment on the redesign through a rep for the show. .
The redesign of white voice actors playing characters of color has gained new attention following the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, but the conversation about who can speak Simpsons characters have been going on since at least 2017, when the debate around Hank Azaria voicing Indian character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon was highlighted in Hari Kondabolu’s documentary The problem with Apu. Despite the denial of Kondabolu’s critics of Simpsons creator Matt Groening (and a response to the show itself), Azaria decided to step down from the role in February 2020. “Once I realized that was how this character was thought of,” he said. he declared in New York. Times, “I didn’t want to participate anymore. It didn’t feel right to me.
In June 2020, before the current season, the Simpsons producers issued a statement: ‘In the future, The simpsons will no longer have white actors voicing non-white characters. Since then, characters like Carl Carlson of Azaria (now voiced by Alex Desert) and Tress MacNeille’s Kumiko Albertson (now voiced by Jenny Yokobori) have been recast. Shearer, however, previously disagreed with the show’s stance on recasting POC roles as voiced by white actors. “I have a very simple idea of acting,” he said in an interview in August on Radio Times. “The actor’s job is to play someone he’s not.” Shearer added that he thinks “there is a confusion between representation, which is important,” adding: “People from all walks of life should be represented in writing and production for corporate purposes so that they help decide what stories to tell and with what knowledge … my job is to play someone that I am not.
[ad_2]
Source link