A big change is coming to Family Guy, as the actor who voices Cleveland Brown quits in order to allow a Black actor to take over the role.The decision is just the latest in an avalanche of White voice actors leaving roles that should be played by Black voice actors. Voice Actor Mike Henry has quit his role of Cleveland Brown (Image: WireImage) Read More Related Articles. THE FAMILY Guy voice actor who plays Cleveland Brown and Consuela has stepped down after 20 years to make way for a minority actor. Playing the character of Molly on Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege. Black voices must be heard. chess prodigy relates to popularity of ‘The Queen’s Gambit’, ‘Just for Laughs’ founder Gilbert Rozon found not guilty on charges of rape, indecent assault, Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard arrested on sex trafficking charges, Iran sentences ‘Zombie Angelina Jolie’ to 10 years in jail for photos, Boy, 2, abandoned with note at Goodwill drop-off in Mississippi, Coronavirus vaccines: What you should know about the side effects, Woman behind ‘Zombie Angelina Jolie’ sentenced to 10 years in Iranian prison, U.S. election: Joe Biden says Texas-led Supreme Court case ‘stunning’, Helicopter footage shows huge landslide near Bute Inlet on B.C. Updated 2:28 PM ET, Fri September 25, 2020. Voice actor Mike Henry will now longer voice Cleveland Brown on the animated series Family Guy. Yahoo is part of Verizon Media. Henry had also voiced the Latin maid named Consuela on the Family Guy series. Back in June, voice actor Mike Henry stepped down from his longtime role as Cleveland Brown on Family Guy, saying, “persons of color should play characters of color.”Now, as NME reports, the show has announced his replacement: YouTube star Arif Zahir.. Zahir, who has done impressions of the character on his YouTube channel, will take over for Henry beginning with Season 19 of the show. Cleveland Orenthal Brown Sr. is a fictional character from the animated television series Family Guy, and its spin-off series The Cleveland Show. This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. The 54-year-old voice actor, who is a white man, has voiced the character since the series’ debut in 1999. Here is one of mine. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role. “I can’t change the past, but I can take accountability for my choices. The Family Guy voice actor, who is white, announced Friday that he would no longer play Cleveland Brown, Peter's chipper neighbor, who is black, on the animated Fox comedy. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls. He will begin to voice … Electoral College certifies vote, Ontario reports nearly 2,300 new coronavirus cases, setting one-day record, 7-year-old N.B. Henry, 54, who created Cleveland Brown and voices other side characters such as Bruce the Performance Artist and Herbert the Pedophile, will continue to voice Brown … I am happy to relinquish the 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.”. I learned fairly recently that Mike Henry, the man who voiced Cleveland Brown on Family Guy for about two decades stepped down from his role. “It’s been an honour to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years. Family Guy voice actor Mike Henry, who is white, announced that he will no longer voice Cleveland Brown, an African-American character, on Family Guy or The Cleveland Show. Arif Zahir has been cast as the new voice of Cleveland Brown on Fox's Family Guy following Mike Henry stepping down from the role. It was wrong and we, on the Central Park team, are pledging to make it right. The Cleveland Show (TV Series 2009–2013) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Family Guy voice actor Mike Henry said Friday that he is stepping down from the role of Cleveland Brown on the Fox animated series. Inside The Simpsons' biggest controversies from Michael Jackson to racism rows Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. Henry, who is White, began voicing the Black character in 1999 and also voiced the character on the 2009-2013 spin-off series The Cleveland Show.His decision followed Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell's decisions to leave animated shows where they voiced biracial characters. I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. He said people of color should voice people of color. It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years. YouTuber Arif Zahir has been announced as the new voice of Cleveland Brown in Family Guy, after Mike Henry stepped down from the role. To enable Verizon Media and our partners to process your personal data select 'I agree', or select 'Manage settings' for more information and to manage your choices. Voice actor Mike Henry announced he'll no longer be playing the role of Cleveland Brown on the long-running animated sitcom. © 2020 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc. Voice actor Mike Henry stepping away From ‘Family Guy’, Mike Henry, the white actor who voices Black character Cleveland on the show 'Family Guy,' has stepped down from his role, he announced on Twitter – Jun 29, 2020, More Republicans finally accept Biden win after U.S. Family Guy has hired Cleveland Brown impersonator Arif Zahir to do the job for real and replace Mike Henry in the role of the Griffins' neighbor. I agree with this, but if a voice actor's voice fits a certain character it shouldn't matter what the voice actor's ethnicity is. “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. “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,” Slate continued. Wendell Pierce is campaigning to be the new voice of Family Guy’s Cleveland Brown.. ‘Family Guy’ voice actor Mike Henry steps down from Cleveland role. Hi. Exclusive Details: Charley Pride Dead at 86 from COVID-19, Country Music's First Black Superstar Close alert × Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role,” Henry wrote. BET Awards 2020 — 5 must-see moments from the show, Bell said this is “a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity.”. The new voice actor to play Cleveland Brown probably won't skip a beat. Jenny Slate leaves ‘Big Mouth,’ says Black characters ‘should be played by Black people’. I will continue to engage in meaningful anti-racist action, to be thoughtful about the messages in my work, to be curious and open to feedback and to do my best to take responsibility for the ways that I am a part of the problem,” she wrote. Michael Robert Henry (born November 7, 1965) is an American 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. (CNN) Arif Zahir, known for his impressions of … Family Guy voice actor Mike Henry said Friday that he is stepping down from the role of Cleveland Brown on the Fox animated series. Three months after Family Guy star Mike Henry announced that he was stepping down as the voice of Cleveland Brown, a replacement has been … This all has to do with political correctness. Want to discuss? “It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years,” he announced on Twitter Friday. 'Family Guy' voice actor Mike Henry says he is 'stepping down' from Cleveland Brown role on animated series The star has voiced the character since the series debuted in 1999. He was conceived during the seventh-inning stretch of a Cleveland Indians game. Information about your device and internet connection, including your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Verizon Media websites and apps. Family Guy voice actor Mike Henry is stepping down from his role as Cleveland Brown. Images of the Cleveland Brown voice actors from the Family Guy franchise. Casting a mixed race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience. The 54-year-old voice actor, who is … Family Guy actor Mike Henry, who has voiced the character of Cleveland Brown for two decades on the Fox animated series, said he is stepping down from the role. White ‘Family Guy’ Actor Says He Will No Longer Voice Cleveland Brown Character June 26, 2020 - 11:17 pm by VIBE Staff Mike Henry has viced the character for 20 years. Slate played the mixed-raced Missy on Netflix’s Big Mouth and Bell voiced Molly on Apple TV Plus’s Central Park. “Here is one of mine. Photos of the The Cleveland Show (Show) voice actors. Mike Henry will no longer voice Family Guy character Cleveland Brown, becoming the latest white actor to step away from playing a character of color on an animated series. I love this character, but persons of colour should play characters of colour. Henry, 54, ... Family Guy's Mike Henry Says He'll No Longer Voice Cleveland Brown Character. Family Guy have announced that YouTuber Arif Zahir will voice the role of Cleveland Brown on the show going forward.. pic.twitter.com/FmKasWITKT, — Mike Henry (@mikehenrybro) June 26, 2020. Slate announced the news last Wednesday, saying: “I have come to the decision today that I can no longer play the character of ‘Missy’ on the animated TV show Big Mouth.”. Black Lives Matter.”, A post shared by Jenny Slate (@jennyslate) on Jun 24, 2020 at 1:00pm PDT, Read more: The voice of Cleveland Brown is a unique one, and he’s a character who appears much more frequently than any of the supporting characters of color on The Simpsons.Finding a replacement actor … 110 images (& sounds) of the The Cleveland Show cast of characters. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. “Most importantly, though, to anyone that I’ve hurt: I am so very sorry. Fox has found the new voice of “Family Guy’s” Cleveland Brown. “But ‘Missy’ is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people. There's a new "Family Guy" voice actor who can say, "My name is Cleveland Brown." Family Guy has found its new Cleveland Brown.Voice actor Arif Zahir, also known as Azerrz, who does impressions of Cleveland on YouTube, has been tapped to replace Mike Henry, Cleveland… As one of Peter Griffin's neighbors and friends, Cleveland is also one of the few recurring African American characters on the show. Henry took to Twitter to announce that he will stop playing the show’s main Black character because “persons of colour should play characters of colour.”, Read more: Arif Zahir has attracted millions of views on YouTube for his impersonation of Family Guy's Cleveland Brown. Family Guy fans can expect a big change in the show's upcoming 19th season. His decision comes after voice actors Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell — who are white — pulled out of their roles to recast their biracial characters with someone of colour. Casting a mixed-race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed-race and Black American experience,” Bell wrote. Playing the character of Molly on Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege. Voice actor Mike Henry announced he would leave the role of Cleveland Brown on 'Family Guy' to allow a black actor to play the character. Now he's the character's voice. ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection A post shared by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on Jun 24, 2020 at 3:46pm PDT. Mike Henry, 54, announced his resignation after voicing the character on Family Guy and its spinoff, the Cleveland Show since 1999. Please read our Commenting Policy first. Get a roundup of the most important and intriguing national stories delivered to your inbox every weekday. Family Guy Casts Black Actor Arif Zahir to Voice Cleveland Brown, Mike Henry to Remain Series Regular. Arif Zahir will be voicing the character of Cleveland. “It was wrong, and we, on the Central Park team, are pledging to make it right. We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. Voiced most times by Mike Henry. coast, Coronavirus: Anand says she has ‘full confidence’ in Health Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine approval process, Canadian fashion mogul Peter Nygard arrested, Indigo under fire for turning away people without masks who are exempt, Jenny Slate leaves ‘Big Mouth,’ says Black characters ‘should be played by Black people’, A post shared by Jenny Slate (@jennyslate), BET Awards 2020 — 5 must-see moments from the show. “Ending my portrayal of ‘Missy’ is one step in a lifelong process of uncovering the racism in my actions.”, Slate said that as she looks back “on the nature and emergence of my own voice in comedy, I know that I have made mistakes along the way.”. 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