# White people voicing non-white characters **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 24, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861 "2020-06-24T22:32:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/1 "2020-06-24T22:32:57Z")
I just saw [a statement from Jenny Slate](https://www.vulture.com/amp/2020/06/jenny-slate-missy-big-mouth-recast.html) apologizing for voicing a mixed race character in an animated series and it was one of the most over-the-top hyperbolic obsequious things I have ever read. (I’m sure she would have commited seppuku if she didn’t think it was cultural appropriation.) She said that her voicing a half-white, half-black character was flawed, white privilege, white supremacy, unjust, erasure, and racism. So how about it? Is this the hideous crime she describes it to be? ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2020, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/2 "2020-06-24T22:35:34Z")
No, it’s virtue signaling. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/3 "2020-06-25T04:59:58Z")
You could say the same about “over-southerned” white voices, since very, very few actors are actually from the south. Remember Minnesotan Jessica Lange in "Streetcar? Wail, ah dew declair. Southern whites are an unprotected class, you can subject them to any indignity, but don’t hire them as actors. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/4 "2020-06-25T07:57:10Z")
As I recall, Foghorn Leghorn wasn’t voiced by an actual rooster. ---
**Author:** ![Telemachus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f1d935/32.png) [@Telemachus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemachus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/5 "2020-06-25T08:09:55Z")
It seems odd to me. I can understand people complaining that there aren’t enough black animated characters on TV, but if the problem is a lack of black animated characters, then that’s something the animators and writers can fix. And I can understand people complaining that the problem is that there aren’t enough black voice actors getting work, but if that’s the case then just hire more to voice characters of any race. No-one will care if a white character is voiced by a black actor. Is the fact that existing black characters weren’t voiced by black actors something anyone was actually complaining about? ---
**Author:** ![Telemachus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f1d935/32.png) [@Telemachus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemachus)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/7 "2020-06-25T08:12:38Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > As I recall, Foghorn Leghorn wasn’t voiced by an actual rooster In fairness, actual roosters were _super_ mad about that. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/8 "2020-06-25T09:12:17Z")
I’m over it. Everyone tripping all over themselves to apologize for their white guilt. Can someone report this for a move to the café? ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/9 "2020-06-25T11:18:48Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So how about it? Is this the hideous crime she describes it to be? …no it isn’t the “hideous” strawman that you make it out to be. There was nothing wrong with what Jenny Slate said, and she should be applauded for making the decision that will give a job to a [Black person who otherwise wouldn’t have had that opportunity](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/has-hollywood-s-diversity-discussion-reached-voice-acting-n861301). Representation matters. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > No, it’s virtue signaling. Complaining about virtue signalling is virtue signalling. > [@dalej42](#): > > I’m over it. Everyone tripping all over themselves to apologize for their white guilt. Well I’m over [digital blackface](https://shadowandact.com/the-new-blackface-minstrelsy-when-white-actors-voice-black-characters-in-animation), so if it takes people to “apologise for white guilt” to make voice acting a more diverse and inclusive space then I’m going to applaud that, not mock it. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/10 "2020-06-25T11:45:55Z")
> [@Banquet\_Bear](#): > > it isn’t the “hideous” strawman that you make it out to be. Ah, yes, I made a “straw man” by repeating the words she said. It would have been fine if she said she was giving up the role to give a black voice actor a chance at a job. But she apologized like she had been using puppies to club preemies while stomping on kittens. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/11 "2020-06-25T11:49:25Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > So how about it? Is this the hideous crime she describes it to be? It would be weird if the character had all- or mostly-black heritage. But apparently the character has a black father and a white mother. It would have been a nobly progressive thing for her to just say “hey, let’s get some more black people in here,” but the idea that she was perpetuating some kind of terrible injustice by being all-white while voicing a character that is half-white was, IMHO, kind of over-the-top. From the article: > “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. But ‘Missy’ is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people,” she wrote. OK, so Missy has a black father and a white mother, and somehow that means she’s a black character, no two ways about it. ISRT that **[this in itself is a long-standing racist idea](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One-drop_rule)**… ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/12 "2020-06-25T11:50:35Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Ah, yes, I made a “straw man” by repeating the words she said. …the words " hideous crime" were not words that Jenny Slate said. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > It would have been fine if she said she was giving up the role to give a black voice actor a chance at a job. But she apologized like she had been using puppies to club preemies while stomping on kittens. Your tendency to be ridiculously hyperbolic is noted. And there was nothing wrong with what Jenny Slate said. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/13 "2020-06-25T12:23:39Z")
I was rewatching “Big Mouth” a few months ago and I thought it was a bit odd to have a white person voice a black character after the whole Apu controversy. So this doesn’t seem particularly surprising to me. ---
**Author:** ![DannyBeans](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dannybeans/32/38_2.png) [@DannyBeans](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DannyBeans)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/14 "2020-06-25T14:55:17Z")
At the same time, has anybody ever complained about Harry Shearer voicing Dr. Hibbert? Genuine question. ---
**Author:** ![puddleglum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puddleglum/32/137_2.png) [@puddleglum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puddleglum)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/15 "2020-06-25T14:59:42Z")
Clearly in the future Jenny Slade should only play white Jewish women named Jenny Slade. Otherwise, “acting” like people she is not would be problematic and a form of white supremacy. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/16 "2020-06-25T15:11:00Z")
My gripe with people voicing someone of a different race isn’t the politics of it but rather than it often doesn’t sound convincing or authentic enough. It’s similar to how Jude Law was strongly criticized for his attempt at an Australian accent in the movie _Contagion_ (although race wasn’t a factor in that.) ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/17 "2020-06-25T15:14:56Z")
Robert Downey Jr did a pretty good Aussie accent in Natural Born Killers. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/qIviHL1X9D4/hqdefault.jpg "Robert Downey Jr Chewing scenery") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIviHL1X9D4) NSFW language ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/18 "2020-06-25T15:23:46Z")
Sure, but one can always find a genuine Aussie (or black person, Hispanic person, Arab person) to do the accent (for animations and so forth). I am not sure why a movie would deliberately seek someone who isn’t natural to voice it, unless it’s for celebrity name recognition. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/19 "2020-06-25T15:27:24Z")
How many non American actors have done American roles? Many. How about LA Confidential? Two of the three leads were Aussie: Russel Crowe and Guy Pierce. Imo, it should be up to the filmmakers to cast their projects. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/20 "2020-06-25T15:44:24Z")
> [@DannyBeans](#): > > At the same time, has anybody ever complained about Harry Shearer voicing Dr. Hibbert? Genuine question. The “digital blackface” piece linked upthread complained about it. Personally, I thought that sort of weakened the argument since they try to frame it as mocking Black people when it’s obviously a parody of a specific character who happens to be Black. But if Cosby had been any other race, they’d be doing the exact same thing – the point isn’t “Haha Black doctor”, it’s “Haha Dr. Huxtable.” With a character where their race is an actual part of their identity on the show (such as Apu), I can perhaps see issue with them being voiced by a white guy. Dr. Hibbert isn’t about being Black though, he’s just a one-joke character about being like that other TV doctor. ---
**Author:** ![Reeses\_Monkey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reeses_monkey/32/2885_2.png) [@Reeses\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeses_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2020, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861/21 "2020-06-25T16:36:52Z")
Is it just as bad the other way around? Where’s the outrage for Cree Summer voicing Inspector Gadget’s niece Penny and Elmyra from Tiny Toon Adventures? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/white-people-voicing-non-white-characters/912861.md?page=2)