Jenny Slate quits Big Mouth: "Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people"

Variety

Slate posted a lengthy statement on Instagram announcing she's exiting her role as biracial character Missy Foreman-Greenwald because she is white. “At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play ‘Missy’ because her mom is Jewish and white — as am I,” Slate wrote amid the racial reckoning sparked by George Floyd's killing. "But ‘Missy’ is also Black and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people.” Big Mouth co-creators Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin, and Jennifer Flackett posted a statement saying they support Slate’s decision. "We sincerely apologize for and regret our original decision to cast a white actor to voice a biracial character," the creators said in their statement. "We made a mistake, took our privilege for granted, and we're working hard to do better moving forward." Big Mouth now plans to recast Missy with a Black actor.