Matt Groening has defended white actors playing non-white characters in The Simpsons hauraki.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hauraki.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The 67-year-old star - who created the long-running animated favourite as well as 'Futurama' and 'Disenchantment' - has opened up after news that Harry Shearer would be replaced by Kevin Michael Richardson as the voice of Doctor Hibbert, a black character
Simpsons creator Matt Groening has addressed the recasting of Dr. Hibbert from Harry Shearer to Kevin Michael Richardson as part of efforts to ensure the show’s minority characters are not being voiced by white actors.
BBC News
By Will Chalk
image captionMatt at the 2017 Comic-Con in San Diego, holding up a picture of Apu
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening doesn t do many interviews. Apparently, he announces at the start of ours, he doesn t have much more to say .
Forty minutes later, after diving through topics from his latest Netflix show to memes and. er, monorails, it s clear he was wrong - there s plenty still to discuss.
Not least, accusations that some of The Simpsons ethnic minority characters, all historically voiced by white actors, encourage harmful stereotypes.
After a backlash prompted by a 2018 documentary called The Problem With Apu, the show has spent the last year re-casting its non-white roles.