Summary

• Bob's Burgers recasts character Marshmallow with a trans Black actress following fan outcry and in alignment with the movement to have characters of color voiced by actors of the same background.
• Loren Bouchard, the creator of Bob's Burgers, acknowledges his mistake of having white cis male actors voice characters of color and takes responsibility by making the necessary changes.
• Bouchard also addressed a similar controversy in his show Central Park, replacing a white actress with a biracial actress to voice the main character Molly Tillerman.

In 2020, creator Loren Bouchard announced that his show would be recasting Bob's Burgers fan theories.

The reason why the show has remained such a popular series is because of Bob's Burgers' cast of lovable characters, one of the fan-favorites being Marshmallow. Marshmallow is a sex worker who, like many other side characters in the show, occasionally gets pulled into whatever misadventures the Belchers get themselves involved in. She was first introduced in Bob's Burgers season 1, episode 6, "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?", in which Marshmallow unexpectedly arrives at Tina's birthday party because Bob had invited her but completely forgotten about it. Since her debut, Marshmallow has remained a popular side character who recently got recast, but for the right reasons.

Marshmallow Was Recast With A Trans Black Actress Following Fan Outcry

Marshmallow was originally voiced by white cis male voice actor David Herman, but in 2020, he was replaced. In the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement, many animated shows chose to stop the practice of having white voice actors play characters of color, including Bob's Burgers, but Loren Bouchard also confirmed on Twitter/X that Marshmallow is trans.

Therefore, in light of this new information about Marshmallow, Bouchard made the right decision to recast the character with an actual trans woman of color. As Bouchard confirmed in his tweet, Jari Jones will be the new voice actor for Marshmallow and the character will make an appearance in the season 14 of Bob's Burgers, which will premiere on October 1, 2023, and continue the storyline of The Bob's Burgers Movie.

Bouchard Also Faced Casting Controversy With Central Park

Unfortunately, Bob's Burgers is not the only show involving Loren Bouchard that has been accused of whitewashing, as his Apple TV+ animated musical series, Central Park, faced a similar backlash. This backlash was specifically directed at the main character Molly Tillerman, who despite being biracial was voiced by Kristen Bell, a white woman. Bouchard posted a statement on Twitter in which he apologized for the mistake and that Bell would be replaced with biracial actress Emmy Raver-Lampman, who has played the character since season 2.