One of the more outspoken cast members in all of the history of The Simpsons is the legendary Harry Shearer. Harry is one of the show’s original actors, hand-selected by show creator Matt Groening and has been nothing less than a legend in the business having voiced roles for a number of characters including Mr. Burns, Mr. Skinner, Ned Flanders, Reverend LoveJoy, and dozens of others. Harry nearly left the show several years ago as a result of contract negotiations, but ended up staying. Yes, you can hear his 80-year-old pitch somewhat change for a number of his classic characters, but it’s still great to have him.
Unfortunately, as part of the #BLM white voice-acting purge of the last couple of years, Shearer’s role as “Dr. Hibbert” was one of the roles that were replaced with actor Kevin Michael Richardson. In a recent interview with The Times of London, Shearer “Folk say the show has become woke in recent years and one of my characters has been affected,” talking further about Hibbert, “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.’ Then, a couple of years ago, I received an email saying they’d employed a Black actor, who then copied my voice. The result is a Black man imitating a white man imitating the whitest Black man on TV.”
This is an interesting take and one I haven’t thought of. White voice actors who have developed voices for PoC characters then to have THOSE voices mimicked by a PoC actor almost comes with a sense of “Who Shot John?”. In any event, it’s brave for Shearer to be one of the few replaced voice actors to speak his mind and actually say how he feels. Hopefully it’s a trend that can continue without people fearing for losing their jobs as a result.
The Simpsons season 35 finale premieres this Sunday Night @ 8 pm ET/PT, only on FOX, check your local listings.