The producers of The Simpsons have replaced actor Hank Azaria, who has voiced gay character Julio since 2003, with an openly gay Cuban-born Tony Rodriguez. This was reported by the portal Yahoo.com.
Rodriguez made his official debut as Julio in the March 28 episode “Uncircumcised Women”.
Azaria previously voiced many of the key characters in the animated series. Previously, he was also suspended from voicing a character named Apu Nahasapimapetilon and African American Karl Carlson.
Azaria himself urged animation shows to stop bringing white actors to play Asian or African American characters.
“If it’s an Indian character, Latin or black, let that person voice the character,” the actor said, noting that in his opinion, it would be more authentic.
In March, Fox renewed The Simpsons for 33 and 34 seasons. At the conclusion of its 34th season, which is slated for release in 2023, the animated series will have 757 episodes. The 700th anniversary episode aired on March 21.
In 2019, as Gazeta.ru reminds, a “Russian” version of the popular animated series “The Simpsons” appeared on the Web. In it, Homer works as a security guard and steals at the same time, Marge argues with cashiers in a supermarket, and Lisa makes money playing the saxophone in an underground passage.