Credit: Getty Images/Netflix

Slate stated that a black character should be played by a black actor.

Jenny Slate, who has played the role of Missy, a biracial teenager, on Netflix’s animated series, Big Mouth for three seasons, has announced that after the show’s upcoming fourth season, she will retire from the role. Slate came to a personal realization that the character should be voiced by a racially appropriate actor.

Slate announced her retirement from the show on her Instagram. “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,” the actor wrote. “But Missy is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people.”

Slate said that accepting the role of Missy was an act of “erasure of Black people,” and that leaving the role “is one step in a life-long process of uncovering the racism in my actions.” She concluded her post by saying “Black voices must be heard. Black Lives Matter.”

Big Mouth‘s co-creator, as well as one of its voice actors, Nick Kroll, spoke on behalf of the show’s staff, saying that they “wholeheartedly agree” with Slate’s decision to quit. “We sincerely apologize for and regret our original decision to cast a white actor to voice a biracial character. We made a mistake, took our privilege for granted, and we’re working hard to do better moving forward.”

Credit: Apple TV

In a related story, Apple TV’s animated series Central Park announced that Kristen Bell, who plays the role of another biracial teen, Molly, would be leaving her role for similar reasons to Slate.

“Kristen, along with the entire creative team, recognizes that the casting of the character of Molly is an opportunity to get representation right — to cast a Black or mixed race actress and give Molly a voice that resonates with all of the nuance and experiences of the character as we’ve drawn her,” the show’s creative team told The Hollywood Reporter.