Kevin Michael Richardson Will Voice Black Roles On Fox Animation!

Voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson will take over roles on The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy. He will continue to play Black characters but also replace white actors who previously voiced them.

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For years, many of your favorite characters from The Simpsons, Bob's Burgers and Family Guy were voiced by white actors. Some of the white actors were voicing Black characters. But since the George Floyd tragedy, many of these actors are stepping down from the role.

The Simpsons will formally replace Dr. Hibbert with veteran voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson. He will also take the role of Drederick Tatum, the Mike Tyson-like character in the animated sitcom.

Harry Shearer, a progressive agitator, voice actor, writer and activist had played the role for most of the show's run. He also plays the role of Principal Skinner, Ned Flanders, Mr. Burns, Smithers and Lenny.

Hank Azaria, a voice actor, writer and producer stepped away from Apu, Springfield Police officer Lou, Drederick Tatum, Bumblebee Man and Dr. Nick Rivera. 

Richardson has played roles in Disney, Nickelodeon, Fox and Comedy Central animated sitcoms.

The recasting comes after “Simpsons” producers said in June 2020 that white actors will no longer play non-white characters.

Big shoes to fill. For 32 seasons Harry Shearer voiced Dr. Hibbert. Now Kevin Michael Richardson will play the role.

During the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, several other animated shows recast characters of color who had previously been voiced by white actors. YouTube star Arif Zahir took over the role of Cleveland Brown from Mike Henry on Family Guy, Ayo Edebiri replaced Jenny Slate as the voice of Missy on Netflix’s Big Mouth, and Apple TV Plus brought on Emmy Raver-Lampman to voice Molly Tillerman on Central Park, who was previously voiced by Kristen Bell.

Richardson has worked on The Simpsons since 2009, providing the voices for many characters. He’s also worked on animated shows like Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, American Dad and many others. He’s won two Daytime Emmy nominations for voicing the villain Joker in the animated series The Batman in the mid-2000s from Warner Bros. Animation.