Family Guy ‘s Cleveland Brown officially has a new voice actor. Mike Henry’s departure from the Seth MacFarlane-helmed animated sitcom earlier this year led to doubt about the character’s future, but as reported by Variety , YouTuber and impressionist Arif Zahir — who first gained notoriety for impersonating Cleveland on his channel — will take over the role starting in season 19.
In June Henry, who is white, stepped down from the role, citing his belief that people of color should be the ones to play characters of color. Nevertheless, his final performances as Cleveland are yet to come as the actor had already completed his work on Family Guy ‘s 18th season, which is set to return on Sunday with the show’s 350th episode.
MacFarlane and showrunners Rich Appel and Alec Sulkin confirmed on Friday that Zahir would play the part moving forward.
Cleveland has been a part of Family Guy since the program’s inception in 1999, making an appearance in the pilot episode, “Death Has a Shadow.” The 40-something, mustachioed Black man is a neighbor of Peter and the rest of the Griffins and is known for his overt politeness, patience and unique laugh.
In 2009, the character received its own spin-off series, The Cleveland Show , which ran for four seasons.
Zahir, who is known as “Azerrz” on YouTube, has uploaded a multitude of videos over the years featuring his impressions of everyone from former President Barack Obama and rapper Kendrick Lamar to Cleveland and current President Donald J. Trump. Per Variety , his video “Hit Rap Songs in Voice Impressions,” which features a reimagining of “Sicko Mode” in Cleveland’s voice has garnered more than 14 million views.
His channel, which continues to be updated by the actor on a semi-regular basis, currently boasts well over 6 million subscribers.
In his statement to Variety , Zahir called his move to actually portray the character he has been impersonating for so long a “gift” and promised not to let fans down.
“When I heard that Mike Henry was stepping down from the role of Cleveland Brown — my favorite cartoon character of all time — I was shocked and saddened, assuming we’d never see him again,” Zahir said.
“When I learned I would get to take over the role? Overabundant gratitude. To Mike, you created something truly special and I promise I will do my absolute best to honor your legacy. To Rich Appel, Alec Sulkin and Seth MacFarlane, thank you for this incredible gift. And to the millions of fans who love this show, I promise not to let you down.”
As shared previously by The Inquisitr , MacFarlane and his team have made additional strides in the name of inclusivity in recent years, having already moved toward phasing out gay jokes.