The world is all too familiar with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy’s breakup a couple of summers back. They got back together, but still.
Now Kermit’s having to deal with a different sort of breakup — because the man who voiced him for 27 years has been fired.
Steve Whitmire, who’s played the iconic role of Kermit The Frog before and after The Muppets became Disney properties, told The Hollywood Reporter that he was fired for two reasons.
One, that he was outspoken with critiques during the one-season series that The Muppets had.
Two, that he was involved in a union dispute.
“The first issue was that they felt I had been ‘disrespectful’ in being outspoken on character issues with the small group of top creative people during the ABC series.”
Actors giving input to writers and directors and producers can be such a mixed bag.
On the one hand, sometimes actors really delve into characters or catch things that don’t make sense.
On the other hand, for writers and directors, it must feel a little like your action figures just turned and spoke to you while you’re playing with them.
“I have been outspoken about what’s best for the Muppets since the Muppets came to Disney [2004], but the fact is I have respect for everyone who was involved in the creation of that series for their own particular contributions.”
That’s … a little stilted, right? Almost overly diplomatic.
“At the same time, I also have insight into their limitations with respect to how well they know the Muppets.”
That line sounds like he’s a little full of himself, you know?
He was apparently under the impression that he was going to be honored for his many years of work and would be able to work something out with the higher-ups.
He also believes that the Muppets sitcom might not have been canceled if the showrunners had listened to his advice.
It’s worth noting that Whitmire has worked with The Muppets, in general, since 1978.
That’s a lifetime’s dedication.
The Muppets Studio’s statement tells a different story:
“The role of Kermit the Frog is an iconic one that is beloved by fans and we take our responsibility to protect the integrity of that character very seriously.”
That’s always good to hear from a studio.
“We raised concerns about Steve’s repeated unacceptable business conduct over a period of many years and he consistently failed to address the feedback.”
Unacceptable business conduct sounds serious.
(Though it’s at least better than unacceptable personal conduct, because we’d rather somebody be a jerk at work than, like, cruise around trying to pick up underage girls or whatever)
“The decision to part ways was a difficult one which was made in consultation with the Henson family and has their full support.”
Consulting the Hensons was, we think, a smart move — even if it was just to cover Disney’s proverbial butt over any potential fallout.
Apparently, Whitmire’s communication style was “overly hostile and nonproductive,” which unfortunately we can totally see.
Actors aren’t always their characters.
If nothing else, Bill Cosby’s predatory creepiness should have made us all aware of that by now.
At first, we wondered if this was just an issue of eccentricity.
Voice actors are, in general, a notoriously eccentric lot.
It kind of goes with the territory if you’re making a bunch of voices for a living.
(I’m not knocking voice actors here — I would 100% be a voice actor, and I’ve always admired the profession)
Or maybe just that he was a bit of a prima donna (a word that I interpreted as “pre-Madonna” until The Phantom Of The Opera came out) after playing Kermit for so long.
But it sounds like Whitmire’s issue is much more mundane.
It sounds like he’s just awful to work with because he’s a huge jerk and that he speaks rudely or condescendingly or whatever to people he works with, and that’s not a way to be in any profession, ever.
Obviously, what really matters is what Miss Piggy feels about all of this.
And whether she, who is perfect and deserves the world, will still accept Kermit with his new voice, provided by Matt Vogel.
We suppose that only time will tell.
Steve Whitmire isn’t the first guy in show business to get fired, but most of these folks didn’t first keep an iconic role for 27 years.
