“The Simpsons”: Hank Azaria Steps Down As The Voice Of LGBT Character “Julio”

 

Hank Azaria continues to shed characters with most recent examples being “Carl Carlson” and “Apu”, and now he’s going down the sexual orientation route of characters to make sure he is truly “woke”, in this case, gay character “Julio”. While the singing voice of “Julio” had been previously introduced in “Diary Queens” in the form of actor Mario Jose, speaking voice Tony Rodriguez has officially made his debut in “Uncut Femmes”.

The character of “Julio” has been around for a few years now, the one-time boyfriend of Waylon Smithers was introduced in “The Three Gays of the Condo” where Homer had to move in after getting kicked out by Marge over some sort of squabble. While here, Homer builds himself up again and wins Marge back.

Tony Rodríguez is a longtime performer of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatres in New York and Los Angeles and has written for and performed in CBS’ Sketch Diversity Showcase. His screen credits include : Late Late Night with James Corden; Crazy Ex Girlfriend; Adam Ruins Everything; Conan; Playing House; Emmy-winning webseries ‘Eastsiders’ and Netflix’s ‘Gentefied.’ He is a consulting producer on a documentary about drag queens in Cuba, ‘Transformistas,’ and won ‘Outstanding Male Actor in a Webisode’ at HBO Latino’s Official Latino Film Festival 2020.

Above all that, Tony is a member of the LGBT community, and with The Simpsons’ effort at making sure actors accurately reflect characters, a notion that has seen various examples of conflict given that the idea of animation is that anyone can be anything or anyone, Tony notes this is a “dream come true“.

In related news, legendary comedic performer John Cleese had this to say about Hank’s recent take on leaving his non-white characters behind.

Not wishing to be left behind by Hank Azaria, I would like to apologise on behalf on Monty Python for all the many sketches we did making fun of white English people

We’re sorry for any distress we may have caused

— John Cleese (@JohnCleese) April 13, 2021

The Simpsons is all-new this Sunday Night @ 8 pm ET/PT, only on FOX, check your local listings. What if The Simpsons were British like John Cleese?

Synopsis:

The longest-running primetime scripted show in television history, THE SIMPSONS exploded into popular culture in 1990 and has remained one of the most groundbreaking and innovative entertainment franchises, recognizable throughout the world. HOMER (Dan Castellaneta), MARGE (Julie Kavner), BART (Nancy Cartwright), LISA (Yeardley Smith) and MAGGIE are instantly identifiable television icons. Rounding out this cast of characters are many beloved Springfield residents, including tavern proprietor MOE SZYSLAK (Hank Azaria) and nuclear power plant owner MR. BURNS (Harry Shearer). The Emmy Award-, Annie Award- and Peabody Award-winning animated comedy will begin its 32nd season this year and will celebrate a landmark 700 episodes this spring. Additional upcoming guest voice stars this season include Olivia Colman, Hannibal Buress, Ben Platt and Michael Palin.

THE SIMPSONS is a Gracie Films Production in association with 20th Television. James L. Brooks, Matt Groening and Al Jean are the executive producers. The Gracie Films Worldwide Brand Division develops and produces the licensed content for the series.