Genshin Impact developer praised for replacing Tighnari actor facing accusations of sexual harassment

News
By published

Elliot Gindi faced accusations of sexual harassment, grooming, and coercing

Genshin Impact's new character Tighnari sighs as Collei shouts in the distance
(Image credit: Mihoyo)

Genshin Impact is recasting the English voice of Tighnari after the actor was publicly accused of sexual harassment, and its developer has been praised by fans and fellow actors for its decision.

Last week, multiple members of the Genshin Impact English voice cast denounced Elliot Gindi, who was publicly accused of grooming and coercing fans, some of them allegedly underage. Today, developer Hoyoverse announced via its English-facing Twitter account that it would be recasting Tighnari, distancing itself from Gindi due to a "breach of contract."

Effective now, Gindi will no longer be the voice of Tighnari in future updates for Genshin Impact. It's unknown at the time if HoYoverse and the voice recording agency have a replacement for Gindi lined up, but once they do, they'll begin replacing Gindi as the voice of Tighnari in past updates, re-recording old voice lines from the actor.

The announcement from HoYoverse has been met with nothing but praise from Genshin Impact's English voice cast. The likes of Zach Aguilar, Emi Lo, Anne Yatco, Erika Harlacher-Stone, Jenny Yokobori, and Brianna Knickerbocker have all praised the decision via their personal Twitter accounts, responding to the second of the tweets from Genshin Impact just above.

"We deeply regret the harm and damage that happened to our fans, gamers, community and anyone affected," HoYoverse said in a statement to GamesRadar+ last week regarding the accusations against Gindi. "Both our internal teams and external partners including our voice acting studio have been working together on an urgent solution. And we will keep you posted on the progress."

In a public confession to allegations made against him, Gindi admitted to having "personal relationships" with three women in a Discord server over the course of several months.

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.