In a pair of statements shared on social media within hours of one another, the actresses — Jenny Slate and Kristen Bell, of the shows “Big Mouth” (Netflix) and “Central Park” (Apple TV Plus) — said their casting had contributed to the “erasure” of their black colleagues. The creators of “Big Mouth,” including Nick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett, apologized in their own statement. “Black characters on an animated show should be played by black people,” Slate wrote. On “Big Mouth,” Slate played Missy Foreman-Greenwald, a smart and sensitive adolescent girl contending with puberty. On “Central Park,” Bell portrayed Molly Tillerman, an awkward teenager who creates her own superhero comics.

Source: New York Times June 25, 2020 18:00 UTC