Guilty Gear voice actor ‘happily steps away’ from role so that a Black performer can take over
Guilty Gear -Strive-. (Arc System Works)
Vocal performer Erin Fitzgerald will no longer appear in the forthcoming Guilty Gear -Strive-, as she is stepping down to make way for a Black voice actor instead
Fitzgerald voiced the character Ramlethal Valentine, first introduced to the 2D anime fighting series in 2014’s Guilty Gear Xrd -SIGN- as a boss character.
Despite being an artificial human, Valentine has been considered a Black character due to her skin tone.
Fitzgerald took to Twitter in response to the news that Black voice actor Laura Stahl would be taking on the role.
“Yes. To those messaging me, I happily stepped away so they could cast more appropriately,” she said.
https://twitter.com/ErinFitzgerald/status/1393349972708397060?s=20
In a follow up tweet she said: “The character is Black I am not Black. I support more work for Black actresses behind the mic.”
Sharing the news on Twitter, Stahl said: “Before I accepted the role of Ramlethal, l asked for clarification on the situation, and not only do I deeply respect Erin as an actor, but as an amazing person as well.”
Fitzgerald then responded: “Super excited for you!!!! I know you did this character justice ? PCB is so good at casting!! and I’m proud to step out of the way to let your brilliant light shine!!”
https://twitter.com/ErinFitzgerald/status/1393355746759249921?s=20
Controversially, developer Arc System Works will be releasing an alternate colours pack for the new Guilty Gear game as DLC, which changes the skin tones of many of its characters.
Fitzgerald has worked on a number of games, in addition to animation and anime work, including multiple Final Fantasy titles, The Last Of Us, World of Warcraft and anime games like Persona, the Tales series and the .hack series.
She was also the voice of Erica in Catherine, a trans woman that many considered to be a toxic portrayal.
Check out the latest story trailer for Guilty Gear -Strive- below.
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