The Simpsons has announced that prolific voice actor Kevin Michael Richardson will be taking over the role of Dr Hibbert from Harry Shearer.
As reported by NME, Fox has confirmed that Richardson will assume the role from the next episode on Sunday, February 28th.
While Shearer has passed the torch to Richardson when voicing Dr Hibbert, he will continue to play other characters including Ned Flanders, Mr Burns and Principal Skinner.
Richardson is a veteran of voice acting, having played roles in shows like Family Guy, American Dad! and SpongeBob SquarePants.
Back in June, creators of The Simpsons confirmed in a statement that the show will “no longer have white actors voice non-white characters,” prompting the replacement of Shearer.
There has been a slew of changes to the voice cast within the last year, beginning with Hank Azaria choosing to distance himself from the character of Apu. On top of that, Azaria also recently stepped down from voicing Carl and was replaced by Alex Désert.
In an interview with The New York Times, Azaria explained that he was particularly uncomfortable with continuing to play Apu due to the stereotypes perpetuated by the character.
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“Once I realised that that was the way this character was thought of, I just didn’t want to participate in it anymore. It just didn’t feel right,” he said.
“I love this show…I have tremendous pride in doing the show. And the character of Apu was done with love and pride and the best of intentions. My message is, things can be done with really good intentions and have negative consequences,” he added.
Check out a montage of Dr Hibbert on The Simpsons:
