American actress Kristen Bell announced that she quitted her role in the animated series, ‘Central Park’ because the producers and Kristen herself think that the mixed-race character, Molly should be voiced by a Black or mixed-raced actress.
This move was interpreted as an example of the racial reckoning following the death of George Floyd, and the raising of the movement ‘Black Lives Matter.’
Regarding the issue, Bell posted a photo showing a highly detailed statement from the series and wrote the followings as a caption on her personal Instagram page:
“This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. Here is one of mine. Playing the character of Molly on Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege.”
After citing her own privilege, ‘The Good Place’ actress continued:
“Casting a mixed-race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience. It was wrong and we, on the Central Park team, are pledging to make it right.”
The late voice of ‘Central Park‘s’ mixed race Molly, Bell concluded her words as follows:
“I am happy to relinquish this role to someone who can give a much more accurate portrayal and I will commit to learning, growing and doing my part for equality and inclusion.”
In a similar way, Jenny Slate quitted voicing the mixed-race character Missy Foreman-Greenwald on ‘Big Mouth,’ which is a Netflix animated series, for the same reason as Kristen’s.
See below to view the mentioned Instagram post.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on
