Courtney Lin, a voice actress for Zenless Zone Zero And Honkai: Star Trail was replaced after it appeared that the signal was being amplified Genshin Influence and HoYoverse boycott.
Screenshot of HuoHuo in Honkai: Star Rail (2023), HoYoverse
As YouTuber Hero Hei first reported, HoYoverse announced that Lin was replaced as HuoHuo in Honkai: Star Trail At the end of July and recently announced that she will play Lucy in Zenless Zone Zero on August 14th.
READ: HoYoverse replaces ‘Honkai: Star Rail’ voice actor Chris Niosi after ex-girlfriend’s emotional abuse confession resurfaced
On July 31, HoYoverse announced that the voice actors of Argenti, HuoHuo, and Tail had been replaced as part of its version 2.4 update “Finest Duel Under the Pristine Blue”.
The patch notes state: “Adjusts the English voice actors and voiceovers for the characters Argenti (Erudition: Physical), Huohuo (Abundance: Wind), and Tail. In addition, the issue of missing English voiceover for Argenti (Erudition: Physical) in some dialogues of the previous story has been fixed.”
The patch notes for the update details for version 1.1 “Undercover R&B” of Zenless Zone Zero say something similar: “The English voice actors for agents ‘Lucy’ and ‘Soukaku’ have been changed and the corresponding voice lines have been replaced.”
Key art for HuoHuo in Honkai: Star Rail (2023), HoYoverse
Lin was replaced after she vowed her support for the Genshin Influence and HoYoverse boycott. On July 14, she posted: “Whew, I’m back on Twitter to say your voices matter and I’m so proud of our community for using theirs! Retweet, email, reach out. Our community is strong.”
Courtney Lin on X
READ: ‘Genshin Impact’ and HoYoverse boycotts celebrate CEO’s rental car being broken into during California visit
This post was made two days after the HYV boycott account was created on X and read as follows: “I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all had enough of the erasure of our cultures and identities. Today I’m introducing you all to Boycott Hoyoverse. We’re going to be an account that shows you how to boycott. Spread the word! Anything helps.”
HYV boycott of X
Additionally, this occurred six days before SAG-AFTRA announced that the national board had given its chief negotiator the authority to call a strike, so it’s unlikely that the community she was referring to was striking voice artists.
SAG-AFTRA News on X
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Interestingly, a person named Valeria Rodriguez, who is the voice actress of Sucrose from Genshin Impact, seemed to confirm that Lin did indeed support the boycott of Genshin Impact and HoYoverse.
On X, Rodriguez wrote, “I’m in the comments verbally bashing the haters, V Nation – join my crusade. Courtney is an incredibly kind and caring person. She doesn’t deserve this. TO ARMS!!! (I can’t post about video game stuff but let’s connect on that)
When asked for context, Rodriguez explained, “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter – very few people deserve the shit these losers are spouting. She was one of those people who wanted a better reputation on G3nshin and then left Twt for a while. Then she came back and all the haters came to take her down.”
A person who uses the name Valeria Rodriguez on X
In another post, Rodriguez accused anyone who made fun of Lin for losing her roles as HuoHuo and Lucy of being racist.
Rodriguez wrote: “It’s more like the racist G3nshin fans coming out of their holes because she dared to agree with us when we want better representation, that sort of thing. But yeah.”
A person who uses the name Valeria Rodriguez on X
READ: Genshin Impact voice actors accuse the game of racism and cultural appropriation in the design of the newly introduced Natlan characters
Why Lin was replaced is unclear. Marco Wurtz of Sports Illustrated believes she was not replaced due to the SAG-AFTRA strike because “the English dubbing of Zenless Zone Zero is being handled by Sound Cadence Studios, which is not among the organizations affected by the current union action. Nor is Rocket Sound, the studio that handles the English voices of Honkai: Star Rail.”
He suspects it is either due to “contract issues with the VAs themselves, who are stepping down for personal reasons.” However, it is possible that HoYoverse fired them because of their support of the boycott.
Screenshot of HuoHuo in Honkai: Star Rail (2023), HoYoverse
What do you think about Courtney Lin being replaced by HoYoverse in both? Zenless Zone Zero And Honkai: Star Trail?
NEXT: ‘Genshin Impact’ developer MiHoYo reminds players that the game is fiction after apparent complaints about ‘racism and colorism’
