Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Voice Actor Controversy
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Overview
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Voice Actor Controversy refers to a viral controversy regarding a quote from voice actor Hudson Thames (who voices Peter Parker in the Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man animated series) in which he stated, “My biggest fear was that it was gonna be annoying and woke to a Collider journalist during an interview in late January 2025. His comment sparked a backlash against the Disney+ show and the actor, as well as jokes and memes targeting what some perceived as Thames' lack of comprehension of what social and political issues the original Spider-Man Marvel Comics delved into.
Background
On January 28th, 2025, the entertainment news site Collider[1] posted an interview with Hudson Thames, the Peter Parker voice actor in the Disney+ TV show Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, which aired its first episode on January 29th, 2025.
In the interview, Thames was asked, "What it was like having a chance for a fresh take on Spider-Man in a world featuring characters never-before-seen in the MCU," to which he replied, "I thought it was awesome. I mean, my biggest fear was that it was gonna be annoying and woke, and it wasn't, and I was like, 'Yes, this is great, it's so well written,' like it feels real. I'm the oldest of five boys, so I feel like I kind of know what's happening in their lives and in high school, and it felt like it was doing that justice."
The quote was also shared on Collider's X[2] / Twitter account, which amassed more than 1.9 million views, 480 likes and 170 replies in a day.
Online Reactions
Hudson Thames' quote, particularly the use of the slang term "woke," quickly sparked backlash and criticism on social media, as some fans of the Marvel hero asked for a recast of the voice actor.
For instance, on January 28th, 2025, X[3] user @SpiderMan_MCU_ replied to a post about the controversial quote with the hashtag "#recast," amassing more than 410,000 views and 23,000 likes in a day.
On the same day, Redditor[4] u/cmaia1503 posted about Hudson's "annoying and woke" comment to the /r/entertainment subreddit, which received more than 1,700 upvotes and 760 comments in a day (seen below).
Discourse about Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man being an "anti-woke" show also spread online after Hudson's interview went viral. For example, on January 28th, 2025, TikTok[5] user @virgo_blade posted a video explaining the controversy (seen below), which received roughly 160,000 plays and 17,000 likes in a day.
@virgo_blade Your friendly neighborhood spiderman is anti-woke #friendlyneighborhoodspiderman #spidermantiktok #marveltok #mcu ♬ original sound – Virgo Blade
Various Reactions
@reidrzlwasheretoo I just know that those were some long days in that recording booth💀#fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #hudsonthames #yourfriendlyneighborhoodspiderman #spiderman #marvel #marvelstudios #disneyplus #disney ♬ Classic classical gymnopedie solo piano(1034554) – Lyrebirds music
@ericatthedisco 🤨 #spiderman #yourfriendlyneighborhoodspiderman #hudsonthames #spidey #peterparker #disneyplus #spidermannowayhome #spidermanacrossthespiderverse #spiderman2 #marvel #mcu #marvelanimation #tv #television #tvtok ♬ Sunflower – Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – Post Malone & Swae Lee
Search Interest
External References
[1] Collider – ‘Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’ Star Shares His Praise for the Series
[3] X – SpiderMan_MCU_
[4] Reddit – u/cmaia1503
[5] TikTok – virgo_blade
![TrollHunter @CBeckman25 Follow X Stan Lee literally said ""Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today." and Hudson Thames is out here saying he was worried about Spider-Man being too "woke"... What d------ + DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm Hudson Thames, the voice of Spider-Man in 'YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN', says his "biggest fear was that [the show] was gonna be annoying and woke" (Source: collider.com/your-friendly-...) 40 11:40 AM - Jan 28, 2025](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/997/704/f79.jpg "Stan Lee literally said \"“Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today.\" and Hudson Thames is out here saying he was worried about Spider-Man being too \"woke\"... What d------")
![. @grubdotwebsite 20h Robin Hudson Thames: SPIDER-MAN NEEDS TO START SAYING THEN WORD Spider-Man Needs to Start Saying the N Word 4 DiscussingFilm @DiscussingFilm ⚫ 21h Hudson Thames, the voice of Spider-Man in 'YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN', says his "biggest fear was that [the show] was gonna be annoying and woke"](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/002/997/701/ace.jpg "Hudson Thames:")
Top Comments
Aziz gANTENG
Jan 29, 2025 at 09:45AM EST in reply to
Bill-Ford, Introspective Gaijin
Jan 29, 2025 at 09:33AM EST in reply to