A week after she scrubbed her Instagram profile, Resident Evil 4 Remake‘s Ada Wong voice actress Lily Gao has addressed the harassment campaign she faced. As reported last week, Gao was viciously attacked by trolls who were unhappy with her performance in the game, with her attackers going as far as landing on her older, unrelated Instagram posts to flood them with nasty comments.
Lily Gao’s statement on Resident Evil 4 Remake’s Ada Wong
In a statement published on her Instagram, Gao wrote that she’s honored to have been picked for the role and is grateful to Capcom for choosing a more accurate representation of the character. Unlike original actress Jolene Anderson, Gao is Chinese-Canadian.
“It’s unfortunate that with the game’s release, also came the all too familiar feeling of ‘I don’t belong,'” Gao said. “While criticism is expected, it’s not the first time an actor of color faces racist and sexist harassment for simply participating. Inauthentic casting perpetuates an unhealthy image that further dehumanizes the community they seek to reflect.”
Gao said that her version of Ada Wong isn’t a stereotypical sexualized, mysterious Asian woman often depicted in various forms of media and entertainment. “My Ada is a survivor,” she concluded. “She is kind, just, intelligent, and funny.”
Capcom has not released a statement on the matter.
