", JIMMY KIMMEL FACES BACKLASH FOR 'NON-APOLOGY' ADDRESSING BLACKFACE CONTROVERSY. FAMILY Guy producers have cast YouTuber Arif Zahir as the new voice of Cleveland Brown after the original voice actor quit. Popular YouTuber Named Azzerz, is the New Voice of Cleveland Brown of Family Guy. A spokesperson for Fox did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Arif Zahir is getting ready for his closeup on "Family Guy." The YouTube star, 26, was hired in late September to replace Mike Henry as the voice of Cleveland Brown on the animated series. "I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color," Mike Henry said in a statement. THE FAMILY Guy voice actor who plays Cleveland Brown and Consuela has stepped down after 20 years to make way for a minority actor. You'll get the latest updates on this topic in your browser notifications. Find out what your cat is trying to tell you with a new cat app, Princess Diana died when Harry was just 12 years old, Engineer Creates App To Translate Your Cat, The Sweetest Photos of Princes Harry with Diana, Sean Connery's Cause of Death Revealed Weeks After He Dies at Age 90. Pinterest. ", Fox News' Nate Day and The Associated Press contributed to this report. In June, voice actor Mike Henry announced he was stepping down from the role of Cleveland Brown… "This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. Rarely," Henry said in 2018. Henry's exit comes hot on the heels of news that another one of Fox's staple animated series, The Simpsons, will no longer cast white actors to voice characters of color. The character was written out of Family Guy largely at the behest of Alex Borstein, who complained the deep gravelly female voice of Loretta was too demanding of her voice.. YouTube comedian Arif Zahir has been announced as the new voice of Family Guy 's Cleveland Brown, taking over the role from Mike Henry. FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2010 file photo, actor and show co-creator Mike Henry appears with signage for his animated series 'The Cleveland Show' at a panel discussion at The Paley Center for Media in Beverly Hills, Calif. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations: Text us for exclusive photos and videos, royal news, and way more. Earlier on Friday, the network revealed that it will no longer have white actors voice characters of color on "The Simpsons. Coyote Ugly Turns 20: Where Is the Cast Now? Writers named the character Cleveland Brown in reference to the similarly named football team, although his last name was not revealed until after Family Guy returned from cancellation in 2005. Michael Robert Henry (born November 7, 1965) is an American actor, voice actor, comedian, director, writer and producer. Mike Henry, 54, announced his resignation after voicing the character on Family Guy and its spinoff, the Cleveland Show since 1999. Furthering this connection, a commercial aired during Super Bowl XLV that showed many TV characters wearing NFL jerseys, with everyone in Quahog wearing New England Patriotsjerseys except Cleveland, who is wearing a … Voice actor Mike Henry announced he would leave the role of Cleveland Brown on 'Family Guy' to allow a black actor to play the character. ", "You know, Cleveland is largely some weird part of me and I’ve been able to do it for [almost] 20 years now, and I think what you’re getting at is, 'Does anyone get upset about it?' 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