Actors Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell separately announced on Wednesday that they will no longer air biracial cartoon characters on “Big Mouth” and “Central Park,” respectively.
Slate announced that he would no longer portray the character of Missy Foreman-Greenwald, a young biracial character in the Netflix series “Big Mouth”.
In the statement, Slate said that he originally reasoned that he could voice the role of Missy because the character’s mother is Jewish and white, like Slate.
“But ‘Missy’ is also black, and black characters in an animated show should be played by black people,” Slate continued. “I acknowledge that my original reasoning is flawed, that it existed as an example of white privilege and unfair rights made within a system of social white supremacy, and that when I played ‘Missy’, I was participating in an act of erasing Black people.”
Also Wednesday, Bell released a statement from the creators of “Central Park,” saying that the biracial character she voiced, Molly, will instead be voiced by a black or mixed-race actor.
Playing the character of Molly in ‘Central Park’ shows a lack of awareness of my widespread privilege. Launching a mixed-race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and the African-American experience, ”Bell said in a post attached to the statement. “I am happy to hand this role over to someone who can give a much more accurate picture, and I will commit to learning, growing, and doing my part for equality and inclusion.”
The obscene “Big Mouth” series animates the uncomfortable experience of puberty, with its characters coming of age and navigating their bodies and sexuality with their “hormonal monsters” (including the incomparable Connie). While the show has explored unapologetic topics, such as bisexuality, depression, and reproductive rights, it has also come under fire for its explanation of pansexuality and transgender people.
The Apple TV + animated series “Central Park” follows the Tillerman-Hunter family who live at Edendale Castle in Central Park. Park manager Owen, his wife Paige, who is a journalist, and daughter Molly and son Cole try to save the beloved park from heiress and businesswoman Bitsy Brandenham. Brandenham wants to buy the park property and turn it into condos and shops.
