Kristen Bell And Jenny Slate Get Mixed Reactions To Dropping 'Black' Roles

Kristen Bell and Jenny Slate made some big moves on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Slate and Bell announced that they would no longer continue their voicing roles on Netflix's "Big Mouth" and Apple TV's "Central Park," respectively. The move was made with the reasoning that people of color deserved the roles because the characters in the shows are people of color. However, both actresses were met with polarizing reactions to their attempts at making things right.

Bell, who was set to portray the biracial character of Molly in the new animated comedy "Central Park," shared a statement from the series' creative team and tweeted, "This is a time to acknowledge our acts of complicity."

"Heres 1 of mine," she continued. "Playing the Molly in Central Park shows a lack of awareness of my pervasive privilege. Casting a mixed race character w/a white actress undermines the specificity of the mixed race & Black American experience."

"Hey Hollywood: THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT," one user replied, commending the 39-year-old actress. "Listen, learn, copy. You're doing good things Kristen. I'm proud to be a fan."

Another added, "So awesome. Thank you for showing us how to walk the walk and talk the talk."

Not everyone saw the decision is a positive light, though. One Twitter user offered up a different interpretation of Bell's decision to drop the role.

"Translation: 'Because there aren't any minorities, specifically Black, that are as talented as me, the only way they can succeed is if I allow it," they tweeted. "You're welcome, little brown people. Now I demand you admire me.'"

Followed by the side-eye emoji another person commented, "The benevolent white savior arrives."

Slate was met with the same mixed reactions as a result of her announcement to relinquish her voicing role as Missy, a half Black, half Jewish and White character on "Big Mouth."

"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," Slate wrote in an Instagram post. "But 'Missy' is also Black, and Black characters on an animated show should be played by Black people."

"Wow. Big of you to acknowledge and act on," one user commented and another added, "That's so brave and selfless! In order to make it right we need to look within."

On the other hand, some commenters believed the 38-year-old completely missed the mark.

"You're an actress. Isn't it your job to portray various characters white or black ?" one user asked. "I simply do not see the logic in an actress saying the shes [committing] erasure of black people while playing a role when I can find several traditional white roles in film and musical theater being played by black men."

"[It's] about ability not skin color. You doing this shows a deep lack of understanding of your own craft and almost slave like pandering to sociopolitical trends in our society," they continued. "It is not brave to do something that is logically inconsistent and know that you'll be greeted like a conquering hero by the rest of the world. True bravery lies in doing things that are right regardless of the consequences."

Recasting for both roles is currently underway.