Producers behind the animated sitcom The Simpsons announced today that white actors will no longer voice non-white characters. The Simpsons is currently the longest-running primetime scripted show on TV and aired the season finale for season 31 last month. Created by Matt Groening, The Simpsons debuted in 1989 and shows the day-to-day stories of Homer Simpson and his family: wife Marge and children Bart, Lisa, and Maggie. Most of these humorous tales happen in the imaginary town of Springfield. The Simpsons is well-known for its comments on pop culture, American society, and politics, as well as a handful of controversies.

In recent years, especially, the animated show has been heavily criticized for whitewashing - the practice of casting white actors to play people of color. In 2017, the Indian-American comedian Hari Kondabolu created and starred in a documentary titled The Problem with Apu, criticizing the The Simpsons for casting a white actor, Hank Azaria, to voice an Indian-American immigrant named Apu Nahasapeemapetilon. Azaria quit The Simpsons in January this year, mostly due to his understanding of the criticism the show had received because of his work voicing Apu. Within the past few days, viewers have seen similar changes taking place in Hollywood, as actors from different animated sitcoms have decided to step down. Jenny Slate (who voiced a biracial character on Netflix's show Big Mouth) and Kristen Bell (from Apple TV+'s show Central Park) are good examples of it.

Related: The Simpsons Responded to the Apu Controversy All Wrong

Per Variety, The Simpsons producers issued a statement today confirming the end of whitewashing on their show. “Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters," affirmed the producers. The statement came out around the same time actor Mike Henry posted on social media that he was stepping down from voicing a Black character on Fox's Family Guy called Cleveland Brown.

The Simpsons Lenny and Carl

The decision makes a lot of sense, especially considering the flurry of casting changes in the world of animated shows this week. It also seems like the logical next step for The Simpsons, following Azaria's announcement about Apu. The show has a number of characters this choice could affect, including Officer Lou, Carl, Dr. Hibbert, Judge Snyder, Drederick Tatum, Bernice Hibbert, and Janey. It's hard to know if these characters will be temporarily sidelined, or if new voice actors will be found immediately. The Simpsons will be far from the only show dealing with these changes.

Henry, Slate, and Bell's departures from their roles voicing people of color come on the heels of police brutality protests and the call for systemic racial change in Hollywood and many other industries. The importance of ditching stereotypical representations of different cultural groups can't be overlooked. The way minorities are seen and see themselves needs to be strongly addressed by content creators in TV. Hiring actors of color to portray characters of color is not only ethically correct, it will also have a positive influence on viewers of The Simpsons.

More: Why Apu Was A Playable Character In The Simpsons: Hit & Run

Source: Variety