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Mike Henry will no longer play Cleveland Brown (Family Guy, Cleveland Show)

Nairume

Nairume

SaGa Sage
Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,938
Addleburg said:
Slightly unrelated, but I've been going through King of the Hill for the past few months as it was something I only watched off and on during in its initial run. It's a largely great show, but I was really disappointed when I found out recently that this is the guy who plays Kahn:

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I'm probably super late to the party on this one, but it makes it a lot harder to watch when his character appears now.
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The only silver lining to the very shitty situation here (which to be clear is very bad and shouldn't have happened to begin with) is at least he's not being played up as much as a stereotype like what was usually happening at the time (re: Apu), but it's still bad and he 100% needs to be recast if they ever bring back the show because it was never acceptable.

Which they either shouldn't or should only do so with massive changes and probably flash forwarding a bunch, because the dynamic of the show really doesn't work anymore now anyway without requiring major character changes anyway.
 
thecouncil

thecouncil

Member
Oct 29, 2017
12,340
At this point, is it ok for Linda and Tina Belcher on Bob's Burgers to be voiced by men? Because I feel like it isn't.
 
tormented

tormented

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
698
thecouncil said:
At this point, is it ok for Linda and Tina Belcher on Bob's Burgers to be voiced by men? Because I feel like it isn't.
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I'd be interested to hear why you (or, just anyone who agrees) think that. Since women voicing men is far more common in animation than the reverse, I don't see it as a direct parallel to white actors taking POC roles, because on a technical level the "equality" has been cemented in that aspect.
 
thecouncil

thecouncil

Member
Oct 29, 2017
12,340
Dan L

Dan L

Tried to PM someone for a tag
Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,177
Regina, Saskatchewan
mopinks said:
I love that the official line on this character is that she's not supposed to be asian and her ethnicity is a *mystery*

who did they think they were fooling

still a step up from Dana Carvey as Ching Chang, I guess
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I can't believe Mark Cerny would do something like this.

But in all seriously this seems like only a positive thing.
 
VPplaya

VPplaya

Member
Nov 20, 2018
1,967
Personally, I think the number one qualification when it comes to casting voice roles is the skill of the actor. That being said, I am fully aware of how non white voice actors have a much harder time landing roles, on top of being few in number to begin with. So long as actors of all types are allowed to fairly audition for the role, I think everyone should be given a fair shot. Of course, that has the issue of individual biases of casting directors and studio executives, so I get why others may be hesitant to agree with me.

But if we are going to go down this road, we have to have an honest conversation about whether it is still okay for non white actors to play white characters. Should it be a two way street?

Perfect example: Zeno Robinson playing Hawks in My Hero Academia. Black actor playing a white character. And you know what? Hes a fantastic, perfect casting for the part. He is able to convey exactly how I imagined Hawks sounded like. On the other hand, you have nonsense like Laura Bailey playing a black character in Uncharted. I find it hard to believe there were no black women around capable of doing a South African accent which warranted them choosing the most popular female voice actor.

I guess what I am trying to say is that it feels like a half measure. I would rather efforts be made to bring in more black actors and take their auditions seriously, rather than just making decisions like this and calling it a day. At the same time, I would like to live in a world where anyone can play any race absent of racial biases and based purely on acting skill.
 
EYEL1NER

EYEL1NER

Member
Oct 26, 2017
3,784
Sounds good. There are plenty of people out there that can impersonate Cleveland's voice pretty well so it shouldn't be hard to find a POC who can take over either.
 
bevishead

bevishead

Member
Jan 9, 2018
885
Rhaknar said:
isnt a big part of it the fact that white actors playing non-white roles leaves less job opportunities for non-white voice actors? not necessarily because it can be a racist depiction?
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Yes I see your point. Cleveland should have been a black voice actor from the beginning. I've watched family guy since the late 90s and didn't even find out Cleveland was voiced by a white guy until about 2005 or so. I do remember being surprised by finding out. By that point I was so used to the voice. Replacing Cleveland and Consuela should be a breeze as their voices are pretty easy to copy.
 
MinusTydus

MinusTydus

The Fallen
Jul 28, 2018
8,198
nel e nel said:
Voiced by Alex Borstein who gave us such classics as the Asian Nail Salon Lady.

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Ms. Swan works as a manicurist at the Gorgeous Pretty Beauty Nail Salon (which she mispronounces as "Goja Pitty Booty Nay Salon").

When she is in a sketch with Michael McDonald, she often refers to him as a "monkey in the bush", humorously insinuating his being a homosexual.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

GAYS, AMIRITE?!

HAHAHAHAHAHA
 
Mona

Mona

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
26,151
Edward Teach said:
Sorry what?
So... White can only play white, nyt poc can play all???
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this sort of thing has more to do with who is getting work behind the scenes than with who is voicing who

productions somehow cant seem to find a place for minorities to work, so viewers have begun insisting that they atleast be hired to present their own representation to help mitigate this

goofy guidelines like this are what come from the fuckery that exists
 
Launch

Launch

Member
Oct 27, 2017
191
Wow. End of an era. I always found FG's writing/portrayal of Cleveland/PoC to be way more problematic than Henry's generally inoffensive performance as Cleveland from day one, but I get how that's a different discussion all together. Consuela is a different story and that character probably just shouldn't exist anymore.

Also, Cleveland Show felt alright in terms of hiring a lot of black actors so it was easy to write off Henry voicing the main character. They even had Kevin Michael Richardson(who is amazing) voicing Lester.
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All of that said, this is the right move, but damn they sure have some big shoes to fill with that decision. Looking forward to see who they get for Cleveland's voice going forward!
 

Alternade

Member
Oct 27, 2017
711
Rag said:
I can never land on a consistent opinion on whether it's alright for a person to voice a character that is a different race. Usually it doesn't bother me, and doesn't seem egregious, or particularly ill-intentioned, but then you get into characters like Kahn on King of the Hill being voiced by a white guy, and I get really uncomfortable with that.
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Part of the problem is that the majority of voiced characters are white already. Why do they feel the need to place a white voice behind a black character when there are so few to begin with. It's just a more subversive blackface
 
Raiden

Raiden

Member
Nov 6, 2017
2,922
jman1954goat said:
I thought the title was about worlds strongest man Mark Henry lol

it's funny that the actors and show runners are just now realizing how non inclusive casting has been better late then never I guess.
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Yeah, they have been okay with cashing in for decades, but now during these times they pat themselves on the shoulder with posting about leaving on their Twitter.

Maybe I'm just bitter I don't know.
 

Deleted member 10193

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,127
He was fine with it for 20 years and now everythings blowing up hes doing it to save face. I hate the bandwagon people are jumping on for karma points.
 
Dehnus

Dehnus

Banned
Oct 30, 2017
1,900
NSA said:
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Yeah, and it's not like the voice hasn't changed before over the years. Like at first he spoke far slower and it was a bit of a joke that he did. So why not revisit the sketch where he got bumped in the head and started speaking slower. But now his voice changes slightly to accommodate a black person doing his voice.

It really shouldn't be that hard. And it's family guy, people shouldn't take that serious that this change should matter that much to people.
 
Dice

Dice

Member
Oct 25, 2017
22,322
Canada
TheLegendOfMart said:
He was fine with it for 20 years and now everythings blowing up hes doing it to save face. I hate the bandwagon people are jumping on for karma points.
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Man I hate this attitude. Yeah it sucks it took "this long" to get change going, but it is. It would be great if we could snap and change the world, but sadly a lot of change is slow. But sometimes it just takes for the ball to start rolling, and a lot can happen at once.

And what karma points? This is the sort of change we want to see, isn't it? Should he bitterly hold on to the role? I'm not understanding the process of which to disengage from the situation.

<10 years ago, videogame producers were saying how female leads "don't sell". Today Naughty Dog reported their game starring two leading ladies (and minorities in different ways) broke sales records for Sony. And I'm thrilled. :')
 
lesserpanda

lesserpanda

Banned
Jun 18, 2020
130
Hopefully this sets the precedent of forcing anime publishing studios to hire Asian only actors for anime.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

Member
Nov 8, 2017
15,636
The Cleveland Show itself just shouldn't exist, full stop. It's an extremely white person's view of the black experience told as a joke.
 

Goldfishking

Member
Oct 27, 2017
309
GamerJM said:
The Cleveland Show itself just shouldn't exist, full stop. It's an extremely white person's view of the black experience told as a joke.
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Cleveland show was really bad for this.
Remember when the opening says 'my happy moustached face'. The reason it sounds odd is because it was originally 'my happy black guy face'.
From the very start that show had issues.
 
Wing Scarab

Wing Scarab

Banned
Nov 1, 2017
1,757
Rhaknar said:
isnt a big part of it the fact that white actors playing non-white roles leaves less job opportunities for non-white voice actors? not necessarily because it can be a racist depiction?
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Exactly. I don't know how someone cannot have a problem with that. When I found out it was a white guy playing his voice midway through the 1st season Istopped watching Cleveland and Family Guy.
 
firehawk12

firehawk12

Member
Oct 25, 2017
24,199
nel e nel said:
Voiced by Alex Borstein who gave us such classics as the Asian Nail Salon Lady.

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I forgot this happened. The 90s man.
Addleburg said:
Slightly unrelated, but I've been going through King of the Hill for the past few months as it was something I only watched off and on during in its initial run. It's a largely great show, but I was really disappointed when I found out recently that this is the guy who plays Kahn:

UxSUmpd.jpg


I'm probably super late to the party on this one, but it makes it a lot harder to watch when his character appears now.
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Huh, I never knew this but of course. I'm assuming the rest of the family was played by white actors too now.
 

Deleted member 10193

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
1,127
Dice said:
Man I hate this attitude. Yeah it sucks it took "this long" to get change going, but it is. It would be great if we could snap and change the world, but sadly a lot of change is slow. But sometimes it just takes for the ball to start rolling, and a lot can happen at once.

And what karma points? This is the sort of change we want to see, isn't it? Should he bitterly hold on to the role? I'm not understanding the process of which to disengage from the situation.

<10 years ago, videogame producers were saying how female leads "don't sell". Today Naughty Dog reported their game starring two leading ladies (and minorities in different ways) broke sales records for Sony. And I'm thrilled. :')
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I get what you are trying to say. I agree but he shouldn't be applauded for doing it.
 
Ushojax

Ushojax

Member
Oct 30, 2017
5,929
Rag said:
I can never land on a consistent opinion on whether it's alright for a person to voice a character that is a different race. Usually it doesn't bother me, and doesn't seem egregious, or particularly ill-intentioned, but then you get into characters like Kahn on King of the Hill being voiced by a white guy, and I get really uncomfortable with that.
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There are characters that are just walking racial caricatures and they shouldn't exist in the first place, having them voiced by white people is just the icing on a shitty cake.

Then there are characters like Diane in Bojack Horseman who are well-written non-white characters who are voiced competently by white actors. If we lived in an equal society where white characters were just as often played by non-white actors, then such casting wouldn't be an issue, but we don't. If even the non-white roles are mindlessly handed out to white actors, where are the opportunities for non-white talent? In many cases the issue isn't the performance of the established white actor but the fact that an opportunity for a new, non-white actor has been taken away.

Hopefully from this moment on, studios will think much more about diversity when casting new shows and actually create pathways to success for minority talent. If a few established characters have to be retired or revoiced then it's a trivial price to pay.
 
vypek

vypek

Member
Oct 25, 2017
12,551
GamerJM said:
The Cleveland Show itself just shouldn't exist, full stop. It's an extremely white person's view of the black experience told as a joke.
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I feel like they must have been kind of aware of this but trucked on anyways. When he returns to Family Guy they make a comment saying something along the lines of "Who was the show for, black people who never met another black person?"

The show had a lot of issues and was just poorly done overall.
 
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