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Kristen Bell leaves voice role of cartoon mixed race character because she's white; blames her privilege
Photo: David Livingston/Getty Images

Kristen Bell leaves voice role of cartoon mixed race character because she's white; blames her privilege

'Growing and doing my part for equality and inclusion'

Actress Kristen Bell announced that she would be stepping down from a voice role of a mixed race character because she feels it was wrong for her, as a white woman, to take the role.

"This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity. Here is one of mine," said Bell on Instagram.

"Playing the character of Molly on Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege. Casting a mixed race character with a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race and Black American experience. It was wrong and we, on the Central Park team, are pledging to make it right," she continued.

"I am happy to relinquish this role to someone who can give a much more accurate portrayal and I will commit to learning," Bell concluded, "growing and doing my part for equality and inclusion."

Central Park is an animated show on Apple TV+ and debuted in May. Bell will not step down completely from the show, but instead will voice a separate character that will be developed for her voice.

"We profoundly regret that we might have contributed to anyone's feeling of exclusion or erasure," read the statement in part from the show.

Bell is known for voicing Anna on Disney's "Frozen" movie series, and for her role on the television show "The Good Place."

Here's the trailer from the show:

Central Park — Official Trailer | Apple TV+www.youtube.com

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