‘The Simpsons’ Star Harry Shearer Says Fans Think His Character Has Been “Affected” Since Getting Replaced By Black Voice Actor: “Folk Say The Show Has Become Woke”

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Harry Shearer has voiced various characters on The Simpsons, including a 20-year run as the town physician Dr. Hibbert. The actor, who was ultimately replaced in the role when the show’s producers promised to stop hiring white actors for characters of color, opened up about the way people think his character was “affected” by the change.

In a new interview with The Times of London, Shearer — who joined The Simpsons in 1989 — claimed, “Folk say the show has become woke in recent years and one of my characters has been affected.”

“I voiced the Black physician, Dr. Hibbert, who I based on Bill Cosby. Back then he was known as the ‘whitest Black man on television,'” Shearer explained. “Then, a couple of years ago, I received an email saying they’d employed a Black actor, who then copied my voice.”

He continued, “The result is a Black man imitating a white man imitating the whitest Black man on TV.”

Shearer, whose character is now voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, wasn’t the only white actor whose role was recast in 2020. Hank Azaria, who was the original voice of Homer’s friend Carl Carlson, was traded out for Alex Désert. Azaria also gave up the role of Indian Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu after decades of voicing the character.

“We all made the decision together,” Azaria told SlashFilm at the time. “We all agreed on it. We all feel like it’s the right thing and good about it.”

While The Simpsons creator Matt Groening said it wasn’t his idea to replace the white actors, he said the decision was a “great” one.

“I will just say that the actors were not hired to play specific characters,” Groening said in a 2021 interview with USA Today. “They were hired to do whatever characters we thought of. To me, the amazing thing is seeing all our brilliant actors who can do multiple voices, do multiple voices. That’s part of the fun of animation.”

He added, “However, to be more inclusive and hire more people, I’m completely in favor of that.”

The Simpsons airs every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.