The Mary Sue: Raphael Bob-Waksberg, the creator of Netflix’s Bojack Horseman, knows that there’s a big problem on his show. Namely, that the character of Diane, who is supposed to be Vietnamese, is voiced by Alison Brie, who is white. This issue has been brought up in fan circles plenty of times before, not only in relation to this show, but throughout animation. Yet, according to Bob-Waksberg, no one’s brought the conversation directly to him, until now.
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I’ve been very appreciative of the large push for diversity in all forms of media that has occurred over the past few years. Usually though, when I think of diversity needs, media outlets that allow the audience to see the face of these actors or singers. Animated shows and films are where my support starts to hiccup a little bit. Let me be clear, in every way I do agree that all casts, regardless of live action vs voice acting should aim to be as diverse as possible. However, I think that hiring a white actor or actress to voice a person of color is not as grievous of a sin as hiring a white actor or actress to play a person of color in a live action film. I think the producers of BoJack Horseman perhaps should have been a bit more race conscious in the initial casting, and be more aware of this concern in the future.
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