'Proud Family:' Keke Palmer, Billy Porter, Asante Blackk and More Introduce Their New Characters (Exclusive)
The Proud Family is getting bigger, y'all! The Disney+ revival is bringing fans of the classic series all their favorite voices from the original show, but it's also packing in some major star power for new characters. From Lizzo to Lil Nas X, Tiffany Haddish, Chance the Rapper, Gabrielle Union, Normani and more, the list of famous guest stars goes on. In ET's exclusive clip, we have five of the show's new stars giving fans an in-depth look at their new characters.
Keke Palmer, artist "A Boogie" Dubose, Billy Porter, Zachary Quinto and Asante Blackk are among the several new recurring actors to join the original voice actors returning, including Kyla Pratt as Penny Proud, Tommy Davidson as Oscar Proud, Paula Jai Parker as Trudy Proud, JoMarie Payton as Suga Mama, Cedric the Entertainer as Uncle Bobby, Carlos Mencia as Felix Boulevardez, Maria Canals-Barrera as Sunset Boulevardez, Alvaro Gutierrez as Papi, Karen Malina White as Dijonay Jones, Soleil Moon Frye as Zoey Howzer, and Alisa Reyes as LaCienega Boulevardez.
Palmer and A Boogie voice Maya and KG Leibowitz-Jenkins, two siblings who are new to the neighborhood. Although Penny is more than happy to reach out a friendly hand to welcome the duo, Palmer explains that her character isn't exactly receptive to the idea at first.
"I have a lot of that in me," Palmer says of young Maya. "I have no problem telling people, 'I know that's the way it's been done but we need to change that because it's not working anymore.'"
A Boogie explains that KG is a bit more relaxed than his sister as he's more into "a gaming world." Although, he is the most popular boy in the school.
Porter and Quinto round out the Leibowitz-Jenkins family, voicing husbands Randall and Barry, respectively. "It's really important that we tell these stories and it's important that we stand for something," Porter says in the clip. "So I'm really excited to be part of this new version of The Proud Family."
Blackk explains that his character, a 6'6" cellist named Kareem, is one of the characters who will "push the message of 'be yourself.'"
"It's said so much, it's so cliche, but it truly is important," he adds. Watch the entire clip above.
Another new voice joining the Proud Family crew is EJ Johnson, who is bringing something -- and someone -- new to the Proud family! The former Rich Kids of Beverly Hills star joins the cast as Michael Collins, who is a member of the LGBTQ+ community and becomes a new member of Penny's group of school friends.
“It's amazing and it's really exciting to bring the character to life and allow young people, who are like me, or similar to me, to see themselves represented,” Johnson told ET.
Johnson says that, although he is playing a teenage character, he feels a connection to Michael and what he represents.
"I think another great thing about the character is, as we both kind of shared in high school, that we were just there with the friend group,” the 29-year-old says. “It wasn't a conversation to talk about. Whether we're talking about gender or sexuality, we just like to be there. And to be fabulous and to be loved by friends at school and just living their best life. That's just very much a similarity between the both of us. And that's definitely something I wanted to showcase with this character. I love that that's how it turned out."
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder starts streaming Feb. 23 on Disney+.
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