Jenny Slate Elects To Stop Voicing Black "Big Mouth" Character, Reigniting Representation In Voice Acting Debate
Comedian Jenny Slate has announced she will no longer voice the mixed-race character Missy Foreman-Greenwald on Netflix's Big Mouth, saying that black characters on an animated show should be voiced by black people.
Slate announced the decision on her Instagram, saying that by voicing Missy, she was contributing to the erasure of black people.
Some praised her decision. "This is amazing and a perfect example of how to be an ally!! I love Big Mouth but will definitely support your next project, Thank you," wrote one commenter. "This decision could not have been easy. Thank you for leading by example," wrote another.
However, there were also several responses to the post which foretold a debate that would later spill over into Twitter. "This is absolute foolishness. Like come on man. & this is coming from a black man," wrote a commenter.
As the news spread to Twitter, users there began debating about representation in voice acting and if Slate's decision was justified. Again, some people were supportive:
But others found that the decision was a step too far, noting that numerous voice actors have done phenomenal jobs despite not being the race of their character (though none of these examples were of non-black actors playing black characters).
RE: @jennyslatePhysical appearance should not be a requirement to voice a character. Ash Ketchum, Timmy Turner, and Bart Simpson were all voiced by women, but no one noticed nor cared because the acting was so good. And sex, unlike race, actually AFFECTS the sound of your voice.
— A2L | RIP Rick May ∠o (@amuzed2life) June 24, 2020
I hope Disney does the right thing and recasts Darth Vader. A white character voiced by James Earl Jones is deeply toxic and problematic. Also Nancy Cartwright playing Bart Simpson is sexist gender erasure. /s pic.twitter.com/Hh9FMQU6Vh
— Lex (@geekynovelist) June 25, 2020
Just a reminder that Samurai Jack was voiced by Phil Lamarr, and did a damn good job.Why does voice acting need to be restricted, Jenny Slate? pic.twitter.com/XhaU8nw0Na
— MangaKamen – When I shine, darkness fades (@Manga_Kamen) June 25, 2020
People want to stop comparing Bart Simpson to Big Mouth. Okay, how about we compare it to Kratos? Christopher is the greatest voice in the world for him and he doesn’t have to have the to have the same skin color. Why? Cause that’s how progressive VA is. It doesn’t give fuck. pic.twitter.com/BcemUQ4K8A
— -BLM-Fletchling (@DFletchling) June 25, 2020
The frequent arguments led "Bart Simpson" and "James Earl Jones" to trend on Twitter throughout the day, as people sparred back and forth about the other side's argument.
As for Slate, at the moment it does not appear as though she will take on another role in Big Mouth, unlike Kristen Bell, who also stepped down from voicing a black character in Central Park and was recast in another role.
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Monkey-Thing
In other news, the humping tortoises have stepped down from voicing the velociraptors from Jurassic Park, demanding that Universal Pictures must clone a velociraptor to do the voice work from now on.
int
Should Cree Summer, a black woman and one of my favorite voice actors, then apologize for voicing Penny a white girl on Inspector Gadget or does it only go one way racially?
Mii, Myself, and I
I see twitter is at it again…
Mii, Myself, and I
Okay, who did I upset?
GoldSrc
This is dumb, I would like to add that the voice of Kevin from Ed Edd n Eddy was a woman as well, Kathleen Barr.
Her logic is flawed.
RemChi
Ohkay I guess Anime dubbers need to give all their roles to japanese people.
Spider3660
Dam it, I was about to say this
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Hollywood likes it's voice actors like they do their laundry, whites and colours separate.
mandrac
Thanos belong to a purple alien VA
MrBoom420
its just a skin color voice whoever
HotPotato
I would like to take this opportunity to voice my appreciation for Dante "Rufio" Basco. It's all I am going to say about this as I am staying out of this one.
Anime tiddes
You know what separates voice acting from traditional acting? It's the fact that you don't need to look exactly like the character. You don't need to share their race or their appearance, all you need is to embody their voice, their means of communication. It's probably the most colorblind form of acting there is.
Take Phil La Marr for example. In real life he's black, but he's voiced a bunch of characters who aren't black, such as Samurai Jack, who is Japanese and Vamp, who is Romanian.
It isn't down to La Marr's race or appearance, it's the sound of his voice and the various ranges he can do with it. That to me is what makes voice acting so unique. Trying to make it so only black or mixed voice actors can voice black or mixed characters destroys that uniqueness.
RemChi
This even goes beyond just race. Phil La Marr isn't Jamacian, but he played Hermes, a Jamacan.
Hootanic
Of all the Inquisitions/Purges that civilizations have gone through, this is turning out to be one of the stupider ones.
At least we haven't (yet) gotten to the part where we drag people in front of kangaroo courts for supposed crimes and then publicly execute them.
AL2009man
I can also includes any of the Snapcube content, and Dr. Coomer as a counterpoint to that dumb race/appearance argument.
as I previously have a similar discussion, regardless of your looks, your Voice and Accent is all it matters.