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‘More corporate virtue signaling’: Twitter left baffled by Simpsons ban on white actors voicing non-white characters
New ‘woke’ rules on voice casting in ‘The Simpsons’ have triggered a nerve in the online community. People are saying it simply goes against what an actor’s job supposed to be and will also do nothing to combat racism.
“Moving forward, ‘The Simpsons’ will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters,” the long-running show’s producers said in a brief statement.
It did not take much time for critics to hit back at the controversial statement. They said it is only natural for actors to be able to portray different people, including ones with a different ethnic and cultural background.
Many brought up instances in which people of color played white characters, even historical figures, like in the popular musical ‘Hamilton,’ set during the US War of Independence.
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“James Earl Jones (a black actor) voiced Darth Vader (excellently). This character was a white man. Is that an issue too?” one person asked, adding that the change is “more corporate virtue signaling that will not do anything to stop actual discrimination and racism.”
A voice actor losing a job because of his or her skin color “sound pretty racist to me,” another wrote.
Some sarcastically asked where the ‘woke’ trend will lead to next, and whether it is now appropriate for English actors to portray characters with an American or Australian accent, or vice versa.
Does this mean an English actor cannot voice an American accent? This is going from ridiculous to sublime. Imitating or portraying someone different is what actors are about.
— Mizz
