Kristen Bell Steps Down From Role On 'Central Park'

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This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. Here is one of mine. Playing the character of Molly on Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege. Casting a mixed race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience. It was wrong and we, on the Central Park team, are pledging to make it right. I am happy to relinquish this role to someone who can give a much more accurate portrayal and I will commit to learning, growing and doing my part for equality and inclusion.

A post shared by kristen bell (@kristenanniebell) on Jun 24, 2020 at 3:46pm PDT

According to Deadline, Kristen Bell has chosen to step away from her role as "Molly," a mixed-race character on Apple TV+'s animated musical comedy series Central Park.

In a statement, Central Park creators Josh Gad, Loren Bouchard and Nora Smith said:

"Kristen Bell is an extraordinarily talented actress who joined the cast of Central Park from nearly the first day of the show's development – before there was even a character for her to play – and she has since delivered a funny, heartfelt, and beautiful performance. But after reflection, Kristen, along with the entire creative team, recognizes that the casting of the character of Molly is an opportunity to get representation right – to cast a Black or mixed race actress and give Molly a voice that resonates with all of the nuance and experiences of the character as we've drawn her. Kristen will continue to be a part of the heart of the show in a new role but we will find a new actress to lend her voice to Molly. We profoundly regret that we might have contributed to anyone's feeling of exclusion or erasure.Black people and people of color have worked and will continue to work on Central Park but we can do better. We're committed to creating opportunities for people of color and Black people in all roles, on all our projects – behind the mic, in the writers room, in production, and in post-production. Animation will be stronger for having as many voices, experiences, and perspectives as we can possibly bring into the industry. Our shop and our show will be better for respecting the nuances and complexity around the issue of representation and trying to get it right."

Bell acknowledged this post in an Instagram statement, saying:

"This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. Here is one of mine. Playing the character of Molly on Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege. Casting a mixed race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience. It was wrong and we, on the Central Park team, are pledging to make it right. I am happy to relinquish this role to someone who can give a much more accurate portrayal and I will commit to learning, growing and doing my part for equality and inclusion."

Slate Follows Suit With Exit From 'Big Mouth'

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A post shared by Jenny Slate (@jennyslate) on Jun 24, 2020 at 1:00pm PDT

Big Mouth creatorsNick Kroll, Andrew Goldberg, Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett revealed in a Twitter statement:

"We made a mistake, took our privilege for granted, and we are working hard to do better moving forward. We are proud of the representation that Missy has offered cerebral, sensitive women of color, and we plan to continue that representation and further grow Missy's character as we recast a new Black actor to play her."

Slate echoed the creators' statement in an Instagram post, saying:

"At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play 'Missy' because her mom is Jewish and White — as am I. But 'Missy' is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black actors. I acknowledge how my original reasoning was flawed, that it existed as an example of white privilege and unjust allowances made within a system of social white supremacy, and that in me playing 'Missy', I was engaging in an act of erasure of Black people."