Honkai Star Rail voice actor steps down following abuse scandal
MiHoYoHonkai Star Rail voice actor Chris Niosi has announced he is stepping down from his role as Moze following player backlash over a previous abuse scandal.
Honkai Star Rail’s voice actor for Moze has announced that they’ll be stepping down from the role following player backlash regarding his abuse scandal from 2019. Niosi’s ex-girlfriend at the time came forward alleging several actions against the VA, including manipulation and groping without consent.
Niosi was announced to be the voice of Moze, an upcoming character in Honkai Star Rail, which was swiftly met with widespread player backlash. Many players came forward asking MiHoYo to remove the VA from the role, similar to how Nintendo removed him from the Fire Emblem series five years ago.
Now Niosi has come forward to say that he will not be continuing his role as Moze in Honkai Star Rail, and to thank MiHoYo for giving him the opportunity, “even for just a moment.”
“Monday morning, I asked my agent to let MiHoYo know that I have made the difficult decision to step down from the role of Moze in Honkai Star Rail,” Niosi stated. “I cannot in good faith continue in a role that would cause undue pain for so many people, especially those I have hurt in the past.
The voice actor also said that they’d be taking a break from social media for some time.
Niosi mentioned that he had received harassment and death threats from players and that he has “continued to pursue therapy and medical interventions” to better himself. “Please know that I remain committed to the life-long work of rehabilitating myself into a better person.”
Niosi has turned off comments on his post, which has since garnered over two and a half thousand retweets, and one and a half thousand likes.
The Honkai Star Rail account has released a statement saying that the voice lines for Moze will be updated in a later version.