Now that Mike Henry has stepped down from voicing Family Guy character Cleveland Brown, Wendell Pierce wants to step in.
Pierce wrote on Twitter that he would love to become the new voice for the character.
“Now that Mike Henry has consciously given up the role of Cleveland, I am publicly starting a campaign to voice the role myself on The Cleveland Show. #WendellIsCleveland,” he wrote. The tweet has gotten over 5,000 retweets and over nearly 27,000 likes.
Now that Mike Henry has consciously given up the role of Cleveland,I am publicly starting a campaign to voice the role myself on The Cleveland Show. #WendellIsCleveland @TheClevelandSho @SethMcFarlane_ pic.twitter.com/Ux3F0uk1p6
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) June 28, 2020
Many in the comments section hoped Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane would take Pierce up on his campaign.
Seth-
please please give the job to Wendell Pierce
please— Maya (@Nyeusi2020) June 28, 2020
Let’s get it!
How a black actor wasn’t chosen to voice a black character in the first place is mind-boggling
— Keeping it 100! (@Blk_UrbanKitty) June 28, 2020
Wendell for Cleveland 2020!
— Lucille Balls (@MereWasThere) June 28, 2020
HERE FOR IT. Would make me finally watch the show ????????????
— Alex. (@DuchessMeg1) June 28, 2020
Before giving up the role, Henry voiced Cleveland on Family Guy and The Cleveland Show for 20 years. He also voiced Cleveland’s stepson Rallo Tubbs, a young Black boy.
Henry’s move to give up the role is one of several recent changes in the voice acting world, with The Simpsons finally announcing that characters of color would no longer be voiced by white actors, a decision comedian Hari Kondabolu advocated for in his 2017 documentary, The Problem With Apu. Jenny Slate also announced she would step away from the role of Missy on Big Mouth, and Central Park character Molly, originally voiced by Kristen Bell, will be recast.
READ MORE:
‘Family Guy’ Star Mike Henry Will No Longer Play Cleveland Brown
Photo: Fox, Wendell Pierce/Twitter