Trans Final Fantasy voice actor speaks out about the vile abuse and death threats she received

A transgender voice actor on Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail has thanked those who supported her after she faced daily abuse from so-called “fans.”

Sena Bryer, who provides the voice for Wuk Lamat in the latest expansion pack, said she has faced death threats and transphobic abuse since Dawntrail was released in July.

“I’ve been hiding and blocking most of them but it’s been like this every single day, on every single tweet,” she said in a post on X/Twitter. “Doesn’t matter what it’s about, I got one when I talked about [what] I made for lunch.”

In another post in August, responding to the abuse towards Algerian Olympic boxer Imane Khelif, Bryer said: “Not to baby-cry my woes, but in the past month, I’ve had misgendering, death/rape threats, doxxing attempts, threats against my family, in every post and all across Twitch/YouTube/Reddit, all [because] I voiced a Final Fantasy character.”

Members of the gaming community came together to praise Bryer for her work on the new game while others said her grievances were absolutely valid.

“You’re not baby-crying,” one person wrote. “You have every right to feel the way you’re feeling and speaking up on it.”

I spent all of 2023 riddled with imposter syndrome, terrified I got recast (for reasons that in hindsight make no sense) so to hear Yoshi-P say these words and give this support fills me with joy. My Japanese is bad but someday I hope to meet him and trade old MMORPG stories ❤️ https://t.co/eTbXTLSGlK

— sena🍉bryer (@senabryer) October 30, 2024

Another wrote: “I’m about half-way through Dawntrail, and [your] work as Wuk Lamat has been amazing. The way you express her emotions has me feeling so immersed and connected to the story, thank you so much. I’m absolutely appalled by what you’re going through.”

The abuse was also addressed by the game’s director, Naoki Yoshida, also known as Yoshi-P, who urged fans to stop directing personal attacks at the actor.

Interviewed by Checkpoint Gaming last week, Yoshida said: “One of our staff members [Bryer] received very negative comments and it almost felt like a personal attack, which breaks my heart. She worked really hard and these criticisms were not constructive at all.”

Bryer thanked the director for his support, writing in a post on Wednesday (30 October): “I spent all of 2023 riddled with imposter syndrome, terrified I got recast (for reasons that in hindsight make no sense).

“To hear Yoshi-P say these words and give this support fills me with joy. My Japanese is bad but some day I hope to meet him and trade old [online role-playing] stories.”

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