Actor Jenny Slate has said she will no longer voice Missy in the animated series Big Mouth, stating that her playing the role was “engaging in an act of erasure of Black people”.
Jenny, who is white, had voiced the character in the Netflix comedy since the show’s inception in 2017, but the role will now be recast.
Writing on Instagram, Jenny said: “At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play Missy because her mom is Jewish and white — as am I.
“But Missy is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people.”
She added: “I acknowledge how my original reasoning was flawed, that it existed as an example of white privilege and unjust allowances made within a system of societal white supremacy, and that in me playing Missy, I was engaging in an act of erasure of Black people.
“Ending my portrayal of Missy is one step in a life-long process of uncovering the racism in my actions.”
In a joint statement, Big Mouth creators Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett confirmed Missy would be recast, adding: “We sincerely apologise for and regret our original decision to cast a white actor to voice a biracial character.”
Frozen star Kristen Bell has also announced she will also stop voicing Molly in Apple TV+ comedy Central Park.
In a statement on Instagram, Kristen said playing the character “shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege”.
“Casting a mixed race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience,” she said. “It was wrong and we, on the Central Park team, are pledging to make it right.
“I am happy to relinquish this role to someone who can give a much more accurate portrayal and I will commit to learning, growing and doing my part for equality and inclusion.”
Central Park producers said the role of Molly would be recast, adding: “We profoundly regret that we might have contributed to anyone’s feeling of exclusion or erasure.”