Fox Entertainment in Simpsons casting pledge

Hank Azaria has vowed to step down as the voice of Apu in The Simpsons

The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters, as a number of animated shows make changes in response to the Black Lives Matter movement.

The show’s producer, Fox Entertainment, issued a statement about the issue on Friday after Netflix’s Big Mouth and Apple TV+’s Central Park recast biracial characters that had previously been voiced by white actors.

“Moving forward, The Simpsons will no longer have white actors voice non-white characters,” it said.

The move comes after Hank Azaria, who is white, said earlier this year he would be stepping down from the role of Indian-American character Apu.

This coincided with the TV industry coming under pressure to provide more opportunities for non-white performers, which has intensified in response to the Black Lives Matter protests, which were sparked by the death of African-American George Floyd in US police custody on May 25.