Since the inception of "Family Guy" in 1999, Mike Henry has voiced Cleveland, as well as other favorites, such as housekeeper Consuela, perverted neighbor John Herbert, and Greased-Up-Deaf-Guy. But in June 2020, the voice actor, who is white, announced that he'd be stepping down from his role of Cleveland. He said on Twitter, "I love this character, but persons of color should play characters of color."
Henry, who continues to voice Herbert and the other Quahog locals, was replaced by Black YouTube star Arif Zahir for Season 19, which premiered in September 2020. Zahir was honored to lend his voice to his favorite cartoon character (via Deadline). He said. "To Mike, you created something truly special, and I promise I will do my absolute best to honor your legacy."
A number of "Family Guy" fans felt this switch should've happened sooner. On Twitter, @sorayasname commented, "People in the comments are so mad about this but this was 100% the right move. Sad it took 20 years for this decision to be made."
Meanwhile, many didn't see anything wrong with Cleveland being voiced by Henry. @EllisHackettJr wrote, "Hey I (obviously a black man) have enjoyed your performances ... Voices are voices. There are no colors assigned to them ... Your portrayal of Cleveland was good enough to land your own show. In my book, you are an honorary black man."
Others pondered whether or not Henry should also step down from voicing Consuela so that a Hispanic woman could portray her. So far, it seems that Henry is still behind her signature, "No, no, no."
