The Simpsons star Harry Shearer says re-casting Black character has ‘affected’ show

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy The Simpsons star Harry Shearer has said recasting him with a Black actor has negatively “affected” one of the show’s main characters. Until 2021, Shearer also voiced Springfield physician Dr Hibbert but found himself suddenly replaced amid calls to recast the show’s non-white characters, voiced by white actors. Plan auto-renews until cancelled Try for free Shearer then questioned the effectiveness of Richardson’s performance as the character, stating: “The result is a Black man imitating a white man imitating the whitest Black man on TV.” ‘The Simpsons’ character Dr Hibbert used to be voiced by Harry Shearer Dr Hibbert is not the only Black character on the series to be recast. After the announcement that white actors would no longer voice non-white characters on The Simpsons, creator Matt Groening said: “It was not my idea, but I’m fine with it.