The Simpsons has become the latest animated TV show to announce it will no longer have characters of color voiced by white voice actors.
Per The Hollywood Reporter, The Simpsons team issued a statement on the matter. "Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have White actors voice non-White characters," it reads.
The Simpsons has made heavy use of casting white actors as non-white characters in its thirty-one season run, which seems to be partially due to the fact that certain voice actors on the show play a large number of characters. The most famous example of this was Hank Azaria voicing the Indian-American character of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon before stepping away from the role earlier this year. Further instances include Azaria voicing characters like Carl Carlson, Lou and Bumblebee Man, while Harry Shearer has voiced the character of Dr. Hibbert.
The Simpsons is one of the numerous animated TV shows to recently announce that characters of color would no longer be voiced by white actors. For example, Family Guy's Mike Henry announced he would no longer be voicing the character of Cleveland Brown. Meanwhile, Central Park and Big Mouth have committed to finding more inclusive casting for lead roles previously occupied by Kristen Bell and Jenny Slate, respectively.
This renewed push for more inclusive voice acting comes in the wake of worldwide Black Lives Matter protests that have seen Hollywood reevaluate a number of its long-standing business and casting practices.