Jenny Slate has left the adult animated comedy 'Big Mouth'. In the series, she portrayed Missy, a character who is biracial.
Jenny Slate took to Instagram to explain her reasons for departing 'Big Mouth'.
She explains how originally she thought "it was permissible for me to play ‘Missy’ because her mom is Jewish and white — as am I."
She writes that she has learned that "Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people."
Slate sees the move away from her portrayal of the character as "one step in a life-long process of uncovering the racism in my actions."
You can see her full statement on Instagram here.
Nick Kroll, one of the creators and stars of the show, also released a statement on the actress' departure, on behalf of the 'Big Mouth' creators.
— nick kroll (@nickkroll) June 24, 2020
Slate isn't the only actress to quit an animated role that is biracial of late.
Kristen Bell has left the Apple TV+ animated comedy 'Cereal Park' less than a month after it first aired.
Bell explained on Twitter: "This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. Heres 1 of mine.
"Playing the Molly in Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege.
"Casting a mixed race character w/a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race & Black American experience."
She shared a statement from the creators also.