'Bojack Horseman' creator admits error casting a white actress to voice Vietnamese American character

Animation industry doing 'soul-searching' in casting of characters of color in the wake of anti-racism protests

Diane, a Vietnamese American character, and Bojack Horseman

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The creator of “Bojack Horseman” admitted on Tuesday that he made a mistake casting white actress Alison Brie to voice a Vietnamese American character named Diane Ngyuen, Miami Herald reports.

The show’s sixth and final season aired in January. Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the creator of the popular Netflix adult cartoon, discussed his “huge racist error” in a Twitter thread in response to the animated "yellow-facing" of the Diane Ngyuen character.

In the past week, responding to the racial sensitivity raised by weeks of anti-racism demonstrations protesting the death of George Floyd and the systemic racism in US institutions, including the animation industry.

Bob-Waksberg admitted in the thread that he was asked about casting Brie to voice Diane early on but evaded the questions because his understanding of the issue was still evolving.

“I didn’t want to give a defensive or half-thought-out answer,” Bob-Waksberg wrote.

In 2018, nearly four years after the first season was released, Bob-Waksberg addressed the casting decision in an interview with Uproxx. He told Uproxx he knew when he was writing the pitch that Diane was going to be Vietnamese American, but that she would be “fully American.”

“Her race is barely going to play a factor and she’s just going to be a person,” the creator of the show said in 2018.

Bob-Waksberg recounted his 2018 explanation in Tuesday’s Twitter thread saying that his comments were a “very ignorant way to talk about WOC.” He said that his intent was to write an Asian American character that wasn’t defined by stereotypes, but admitted he went too far in the other direction.

“The intention behind the character is I wanted to write AWAY from stereotypes and create an Asian American character who wasn't defined solely by her race,” Bob-Waksberg wrote. “But I went too far in the other direction. We are all defined SOMEWHAT by our race! Of course we are! It is part of us!”

Bob-Waksberg also added that it was a mistake not to have hired a Vietnamese American writer to reflect on Diane’s heritage, The Independent reports. Over the course of six seasons, not a single Asian American writer was hired.

“We should have hired a Vietnamese writer, and a Vietnamese actress to play Diane - or if not that, changed the character to match who we did hire,” he wrote.

Bob-Waksberg concluded the thread by thanking people for continuing to engage him on the issue. He said he feels it is important for him to keep talking about it.

Brie also expressed regret at voicing the Vietnamese American charactoer. The 37-year-old wrote: 'In hindsight, I wish that I didn't voice the character of Diane Nguyen. I now understand that people of color, should always voice people of color.

'We missed a great opportunity to represent the Vietnamese-American community accurately and respectfully, and for that I am truly sorry. 

'I applaud all those who stepped away from their voiceover roles in recent days. I have learned a lot from them." 

Brie was referring to the voice actors who last week stepped away from their animated roles of characters of color. The soul searching by actors and producers of animated shows were reacting to the demonstrations sparked by the death of George Floyd two weeks ago in Minneapolis and the racial awareness raised by global protests calling for racial equity.

In a pair of statements shared on social media on Wednesday (June 24) within hours of one another, the white actresses — Jennie Slate and Kristen Bell, of the animated shows Big Mouth (Netflix) and Central Park (Apple TV Plus) — said their casting had contributed to the “erasure” of their black colleagues. 

White actress Jenny Slate provided the voice for Missy, a character of mixed race, in 'Big Mouth.'

“Black characters on an animated show should be played by black people,” Slate wrote.
“Casting a mixed race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience,” Bell wrote on Instagram.

On Friday (June 26) Mike Henry, a Family Guy voice actor who is white, tweeted that he would no longer play the role of Cleveland Brown, a black character who has appeared on that series since its debut in 1999.

“It’s been an honor to play Cleveland on Family Guy for 20 years,” Henry wrote in his tweet. “I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color. Therefore, I will be stepping down from the role,” he said in his tweet.

The creators of The Simpsons, which is in its 31st season said they would no longer use white actors to voice their characters of color. Earlier this year, actor Hank Azaria said he would no longer portray Apu, an Indian American character that often resorted stereotypical behavior.

“Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice nonwhite characters,” its producers said in a statement.

“Once I realized that that was the way this character was thought of, I just didn’t want to participate in it anymore. It just didn’t feel right,” said Azaria, who stopped portraying Apu role in February.

Hank Azaria expresses remorse for voicing Apu in 'The Simpsons'

Hank Azaria, left, will no longer give voice to the cartoon character Apu.

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Voice actor Hank Azaria who played Apu on the long running show The Simpsons is opening up about his decision not to voice the character after three decades.
“What happened with this character is a window into an important issue,” Azaria told The New York Times. “It’s a good way to start the conversation. I can be accountable and try to make up for it as best I can.”

Azaria has long defended his characterization of the Indian American clerk at a convenience store. He refused to participate in Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary The Problem with Apu despite persistent attempts by the comedian.

The voice actor now admits the documentary had an impact on him as he reflected on his own Jewish heritage.

“I started thinking, if that character were the only representation of Jewish people in American culture for 20 years, which was the case with Apu, I might not love that,” he said.

Producers of The Simpsons say they respect Azaria’s decision to pull away from the character. They have not said what will happen with Apu or if the character will return to the show with a new actor.

Offensive stereotype on 'Simpsons' might be near its end

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SOME are already writing the obituary of Apu, the stereotypical and racist character on the Simpson’s.

Indie Wire reports that producer Adi Shankar has been told by multiple sources on the show that the character is being written out of the long running series.

Shakar has been running a contest to crowd source a script about Apu that would evolve the character into a realistic portrayal of Indian Americans.

He expressed disappointment that the character voiced by Hank Azaria may be eliminated, calling the news disheartening.

“I got some disheartening news back, that I’ve verified from multiple sources now: They’re going to drop the Apu character altogether,” said Shankar to Indie Wire. “They aren’t going to make a big deal out of it, or anything like that, but they’ll drop him altogether just to avoid the controversy.”

The Apu character was the subject of a nationally televised documentary by comedian Hari Kondabolu called The Problem with Apu. He too expressed disappointment about Apu’s probable demise.

“I don’t find Apu offensive, I find him annoying and insulting,” Kondabolu said to NBC. “But for me, one: It’s inaccurate. Two: It’s insulting to my parents. And three: When that’s the only depiction you have, that’s how the world sees you.”

Fox, which airs the long running animated series, told Indie Wire that Apu appeared just two weeks ago in the October 14 episode, but only in a crowd shot of dozens of people.

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Hank Azaria: Fixing the Simpson's Apu is 'The right thing to do'

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HANK AZARIA, the voice of Apu in The Simpsons, appeared apologetic this week for his portrayal of Apu, a character of Indian descent with a stereotypical accent.
Azaria told Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, “It was certainly not my intention [to cause offense with his portrayal of Apu]. I wanted to spread laughter and joy with this character and the idea that it was used to marginalize people, it’s upsetting, genuinely.”

Shortly after hearing Azaria’s comments, Hari Kondabalu, producer of the documentary, The Problem with Apu, sent a tweet praising Azaria for his remarks.

Azaria distanced himself from a recent controversial Simpson’s episode when the show’s creators seemed to be indifferent to Kondabalu’s concerns.

APU

“The idea that anyone young or old, past or present, being bullied based on Apu really makes me sad,” Azaria said, according to the BBC.

Kondabalu’s documentary sparked a wide range of reaction ranging from praise to indifference.

Kondabalu spent a great amount of time in his documentary trying to get Azaria to speak to him. At one point, Azaria seemed opened to the idea, but it never happened.

Azaria’s interview on The Late Show marks a major turning point.

Among the notable things he said:

“I really want to see Indian, South Asian writers in the writers room… including how [Apu] is voiced or not voiced.

“I’m perfectly willing and happy to step aside, or help transition it into something new.

“It not only makes sense, it just feels like the right thing to do to me.”

Azaria's apologetic response is in contrast to one of The Simpsons creators. Asked if he had any response to the criticisms raised in The Problem With Apu and after its release, Simpsons creator Matt Groening delivered a less-than-stellar answer to USA Today.

"Not really," he said. "I’m proud of what we do on the show. And I think it’s a time in our culture where people love to pretend they’re offended."

He wants the show to "speak for itself," he said. That happened already, but — much like Groening's chat with USA Today — it wasn't much of a response, but what you would expect from a white man who has no idea of the pain his racial blindness can cause.

Many fans felt let down earlier in April when the show addressed the Apu controversy head-on, sort of. It starts with the Marge character reading Lisa an old bedtime story that's been updated for a more politically correct age. Lisa isn't a fan of the changes.

"Something that started decades ago and was applauded and inoffensive is now politically incorrect. What can you do?" As she finishes her comment, the camera pans over to a framed photo of Apu.

"Some things will be dealt with at a later date," Marge responded. "If at all," Lisa added, as both turn and look directly into the "camera."

Basically, the Simpsons' creators gave the middle finger to you "complainers."

We'll see what happens next ... if anything. And, I ain't pretendin'!

(Additional reporting by Views From the Edge to update.)
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