Black voice actress from Star Wars: The Clone Wars was shocked she didn't get a chance to audition for Big Mouth and Central Park

The Hollywood Reporter

"Imagine my surprise when I learned that so many Black roles I never even got the chance to audition for went to white actresses," says Angelique Perrin of the mixed-race Black roles Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell gave up in June. "The roles in Big Mouth and Central Park were made for me. Yet, they were placed outside my reach...I don't know why, but I was surprised at the news that so many White actresses were playing roles of Black characters. I realize some of these characters identify as biracial, but in this country, any person with even one ancestor of Black ancestry is considered Black (a social and legal principle of racial classification). We'd like to think we've evolved past the point of having actors perform in Blackface, but somehow the industry thought these casting choices were acceptable without questioning who was losing out on an opportunity. Imagine what Indian actor's career would have been launched if he had been cast as Apu? One of the very difficult conversations this moment is forcing us to have is about equal opportunity. Having a main character in a cartoon who is Black and female is rare. Leading roles for Black women are equally rare. When they do pop up, they almost always go to the top A-list Black actresses. Sanaa Lathan landed the role of Cleveland's wife. Similarly, I had several shots auditioning for The Boondocks before the roles of Huey and Riley went to Regina King. But at least I had the opportunity to audition."