As Always DONT Attack The VAs - Tumblr Posts
note on Chris Niosi
preface: no one accuse me of being a hoyo dickrider, I am literally questioning if I want to even continue playing HSR if they don't recast him
I know loads of people want the VAs to speak out on Chris and call for his recasting like they did Elliot Gindi, but this is not an Elliot Gindi repeat situation. Chris Niosi has a very long history in the industry with fairly significant roles, even before and after the controversy. He is kinda the guy (Reigen Arataka) in Mob Psycho 100 and wasn't recasted in the most recent seasons immediately after the controversy. And the game he was removed from for violating NDA wasn't just some minor character in an indie game. No, he was removed as the main male character for a Fire Emblem main series game.
Elliot Gindi, in comparison, was a relatively up and coming, new voice actor that wasn't well established in the industry.
Speaking out about this situation and not being careful could potentially lead VAs to being blacklisted from certain studios, taking away their livelihoods, if they're not careful. This is a series of tweet from Cat Protano, VA for Pearl, Misha, and Skirk potentially confirming this.
link to tweet
I don't know what their contracts look like specifically, but I'd strongly encourage you all to not pressure VAs to speak up and call on Hoyo to recast him. The industry fucking sucks that it protects abusers. But, unfortunately, the industry is structured to protect abusers and punish those that speak out against it with literal threats to their livelihoods. The best course of action is to reach out to hoyo directly about this decision, boycott them (play the games but refuse to spend money on them, explicitly state that in your emails), and pressure them to change the VA before the character is officially released. They still have the time and resources.
Emails to reach out to Hoyo.
HSR: hsrcs_en@hoyoverse.com
The satisfaction survey for the recent patch has recently been released and this is a wonderful opportunity to speak up. I've even seen someone make a recommendation to allow users to choose specific languages for specific characters (eg. using English voices across the board except for Moze, and using the Chinese voice for him)
Side note: this is NOT giving a free pass for VAs that openly support him. that is absolutely not what I am saying. I am simply wanting to offer some insight into why some VAs are being quiet or seemingly appearing "neutral" with their silence. I understand that some are disappointed with the silence on their end, but they have legitimate concerns on whether or not they can speak up and what they can say.