“The Simpsons” has recast Dr. Julius Hibbert, the family physician on the long-running animated series, after its producers had pledged to “no longer have white actors voice non-white characters.”
Fox confirmed Kevin Michael Richardson will voice Dr. Hibbert on “The Simpsons” starting with Sunday’s episode, “Wad Goals,” replacing actor Harry Shearer after more than 30 seasons in that role.
“The show decided not to have characters of color voiced by people who didn’t match that description,” Mr. Shearer said on Twitter, adding: “The decision was the show’s, not mine. I am an employee.”
The latest change to the cast of “The Simpsons,” which debuted in 1989, comes eight months since the show issued a statement that said it would stop having White actors voice non-White characters.
Mr. Shearer, who is White, has voiced numerous characters on “The Simpsons” since it started airing, including TV newscaster Kent Brockman and Principal Seymour Skinner, among dozens more. Mr. Richardson, who is Black, has voiced minor characters on more than 30 episodes of “The Simpsons” since 2009, although none as prominent as Dr. Hibbert, one of the show’s few Black characters.
“The Simpsons” had announced plans to diversify its cast last June amid similar changes happening across Hollywood following the racially charged death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in late May.
Mr. Shearer, a venerable comedian and actor whose film credits include “This is Spinal Tap” and “A Mighty Wind,” among others, had addressed the decision in a radio interview shortly afterward.
“I have a very simple belief about acting,” Mr. Shearer told Times Radio last August. “The job of the actor is to play someone who they are not. That’s the gig. That’s the job description.”
More recently, Mr. Shearer repeated that sentiment Monday when pressed on Twitter about being replaced as Dr. Hibbert.
“My first public statement about this is my only one: the job of an actor is to portray someone he/she isn’t,” Mr. Shearer tweeted
Mr. Shearer, 77, won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for a 2013 episode of “The Simpsons,” titled “Four Regrettings and a Funeral.”
Dr. Hibbert has appeared in scores of episodes of “The Simpsons” starting with the show’s first season in 1990.
The recasting of Dr. Hibbert is the second major change at “The Simpsons” since producers of the animated series pledged last year to no longer have White actors voice non-White characters.
Carl Carlson, a Black character on “The Simpsons” voiced by actor Hank Azaria for close to 30 years, was recast in September.
Floyd, a Black man, died in police custody in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and outrage over his death quickly sparked nationwide protests and rekindled calls for racial equality.
Previously, in January 2020, Mr. Azaria said he retired from voicing Apu Nahasapeemapetilon, an Indian-American character, after previously apologizing for its perpetuation of racial stereotypes.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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