Jenny Slate’s replacement on Netflix animated comedy Big Mouth revealed

Actress and comedian Ayo Edebiri has been announced as Jenny Slate’s replacement on Netflix animated comedy Big Mouth.

Slate, who is white, said in June she would no longer voice the character of Missy, who is black.

Speaking as waves of Black Lives Matter protests broke out around the world, Slate said her taking the role was “engaging in an act of erasure of Black people”.

Edebiri, who also serves as a writer on Big Mouth, has now been revealed as her replacement.

Slate will continue to voice Missy for most of the fourth season – which is yet to get a premiere date – with Edebiri taking over in the penultimate episode.

Explaining her decision to step down, Slate said: “At the start of the show, I reasoned with myself that it was permissible for me to play Missy because her mom is Jewish and White — as am I.

“But Missy is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people.”

Slate, who had been on the cast of Big Mouth since it premiered in 2017, added: “I acknowledge how my original reasoning was flawed, that it existed as an example of white privilege and unjust allowances made within a system of societal white supremacy, and that in me playing Missy, I was engaging in an act of erasure of Black people.

“Ending my portrayal of Missy is one step in a life-long process of uncovering the racism in my actions.”