Henry, who also voiced the character on the now-canceled “The Cleveland Show,” took to Twitter on Friday night, writing that it was an honor to play the character for 20 years.
“I love this character, but people in color should play with characters in color,” he said. “So I’m going to step down.”
The announcement comes shortly after “The Simpsons,” a FOX show like “Family Guy,” which said it would
there are no more white actors voting non-white characters, That decision came months after Hank Azaria said he would no longer vote on the popular character of Apua from The Simpsons, who was criticized as a racist, stereotypical and shameful portrait of the South Asian people.
But “Family Guy” has other non-white characters portrayed by white actors, including Tricia Takanawa, voiced by Alex Borstein, who also votes for Matriarch Lois Griffin.
Henry is one of many white actors leaving
It’s all part of recent pop culture
racial strife, as more and more creatives and color actors demand responsibility
from Hollywood and the entertainment industry.
Popular comedian Jenny Slate was also seen this week
step down from his role in “Big Mouth” as Missy Foreman-Greenwald, a young girl of mixed race. In an explanation posted on Instagram, Slate wrote, “Black characters in an animated show should be played by blacks.”
“At the beginning of the show, I decided with myself that I was allowed to play ‘Missy’ because her mom is Jewish and white – just like me. But Missy is also black and the black characters in the animated show should be played by blacks,”
she said. Citing her own “penetrating privilege,” Kristen Bell
also announced leaves the role of a mixed character in the Apple TV + animated series “Central Park”.
Bell and the creative team behind the show recognize “that playing the character Molly is an opportunity to properly portray the national team – playing a black or mixed race actress and giving Molly a voice that resonates with all the nuances and experiences of the character. As we drew her,” they wrote in statement.
Alison Brie, who also portrayed Vietnamese character Diane Nguyen on Netflix’s “BoJack Horseman”
spoke on Friday, saying she wished she hadn’t expressed a character.
“I now understand that people of color should always express people of color. We missed a great opportunity to present the Vietnamese-American community accurately and respectfully, and for that I am truly sorry,” she wrote. “I commend all those who have retired from their voiceover role in recent days. I have learned a lot from them.”
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