The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder has made its return to the airwaves, but fans might be wondering where a core member of Penny Proud’s friend group, Sticky Webb, is.
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While Sticky appears in the series’ first episode, “New Kids on the Block,” his storyline quickly wraps up as he moves away from his neighborhood. He leaves a note to Penny, writing, “Penny, I’m really gonna miss you guys. My dad got a job in Japan. He said I didn’t have to go, I could say with my cousins if I wanted, but I’ve just had enough of that crazy Dijonay.”
All of this is done without the character ever speaking, since his voice actor, Orlando Brown, has had tumultuous years post-'That's So Raven' and 'The Proud Family.'
As Decider reports, Brown’s rap sheet started in 2016, when he as arrested and charged after a public fight with his ex-girlfriend. He was charged with drug possession (methamphetamine was involved in the fight), domestic abuse and obstruction of justice. In 2018, Brown was charged once again with drug possession, domestic battery and resisting arrest. After other attempts to avoid more arrests that year, Brown went to rehab and, as of 2020, seemed to be in a better place, including graduating from the rehab program and getting married. However, some of his now-deleted Instagram posts make it seem like Brown is still dealing with the effects of poor mental health.
'The Proud Family' co-creator Bruce W. Smith told TVLine that Sticky left because of the show's plan to broaden the show's universe.
“We always wanted to expand out the world. In doing that, sometimes you have to revisit where characters are going and how we can bring in new characters,” he said.”For us, expanding the world sometimes means you lose characters, but you also gain more characters that help grow the show in a direction we feel is necessary for this new version. That’s where a lot of our decisions lie.”
However, Smith said that it’s always possible for Sticky to make a grand return, saying, “We never say never on our show. That’s our thing. This show is about bringing in new characters and expanding the world, but also giving surprises at the same time.”
While Sticky is gone for the foreseeable future, however, a new family has come in–a family with two fathers, Randall and Barry, voiced by Billy Porter and Zachary Quinto, respectively. They also have a son and a daughter who are about Penny’s age. The daughter Maya, a Black Lives Matter activist, is voiced by Keke Palmer. Rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie voices Maya’s brother, KG.
The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder is streaming on Disney+
