White Actor Who Voiced Black 'Family Guy' Character Steps Down
'Family Guy' White Actor Who Voiced Cleveland Steps Down
Mike Henry, the white actor who has voiced Cleveland on "Family Guy" for 20 years is stepping down from the role ... saying the black character should be voiced by a person of color.
Henry made the announcement Friday, saying, "It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years. I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role."
Henry has been with "Family Guy" since 1999. Henry voiced Cleveland and his son, Rallo, on the spin-off "The Cleveland Show" for four seasons from 2009-2013.
Henry isn't the first white actor to step down from voicing a character of color. Earlier this week, Jenny Slate announced she would no longer play Missy, a biracial character, on the Netflix show, "Big Mouth." Kristen Bell, who was to play a biracial character in the upcoming series, "Central Park," said she was stepping down as well.
