By harassing Dori’s English voice actress, Anjali Kunapaneni, after HoYoverse first introduced the character on Twitter prior to the version 3.0 update, Genshin Impact fans have once again gone too far. It’s no secret that the community has objected to the way that some cultures have been portrayed in Sumeru, but a sizable number of fans have gone too far by blaming the wrong individuals — especially, the voice actors who play 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 actor, Corina Boettger.
As Boettger said, voice actors have no control over their characters or pronunciations – and definitely shouldn’t be harassed for decisions they have no control over.