Genshin Impact fans harass Dori’s English VA over Sumeru criticisms

pcgamesn.com:

Genshin Impact fans have once again taken things too far by harassing Dori’s English voice actor, Anjali Kunapaneni, following HoYoverse’s introduction the character on Twitter before the version 3.0 update. It’s no secret that the community has been displeased with how certain cultures have been represented in Sumeru, but a sizeable number of fans have taken that displeasure to the extreme by directing it at the wrong people – namely, the voice actors behind these characters.

After Dori’s reveal, Kunapaneni took to Twitter to announce that they would be closing their DMs. They stated that “things started off okay,” but since they had to close their DMs, we can only assume that the harassment grew to a level that couldn’t be ignored or handled without cutting off communication.

In the same tweet, Kunapaneni provides the reminder that “actors are not their characters,” which should be obvious, but we’ve seen time and again that many fans often don’t respect that differentiation, no matter the fandom.

For those who haven’t been following the recent Genshin Impact controversy that led to this harassment, it all stems from the community’s feelings toward representation — or the lack thereof. Sumeru is a region that clearly takes inspiration from Middle Eastern and South Asian countries, yet this is not reflected in the skin tones of characters. In Dori’s case, for example, her design and personality come across as harmful stereotypes, reinforcing orientalist generalizations that don’t authentically represent cultures that she borrows from.

Players have also taken issue with name pronunciations for prominent Sumeru characters like Tighnari and Alhaitham, which is a problem that was recently addressed by Paimon’s English voice