English VA for Sunday Responds to Chris Niosi Controversy

Hi, my name is Griffin Puatu. I'm the English voice actor for Sunday in HSR. I wanted to make a post here regarding the Chris Niosi situation.

Back in 2019, ex-girlfriends and former friends of Chris accused him of sexual, emotional abuse and more. Those accusations were responded to by Chris, who owned up to and apologized for the things he actually did, while also correcting the record for what he did NOT do. No criminal charges have ever been brought against him, and over the past five years, Chris has struggled to improve himself and right those wrongs, while slowly trying to regain his ability to work again. During that time, Chris has earned the support of many of his colleagues, both privately and publicly. He has been hired by multiple studios for work in between then and now, even AFTER facing consequences, firings, and blacklists for what he did.

The reason why? Many of us had front row seats to everything that happened, and know that Chris has apologized, changed, and grown. We are happy he is working again, and gets to pursue a living for himself in an industry that he loves dearly.

If the people hurt by Chris believe he is undeserving of forgiveness, or that he hasn't changed at all, then that's on them. Some of those people forgave him, some didn’t. They have every right to feel however they feel. But that doesn't make it true, and it certainly doesn't give them the right to dictate whether or not Chris ever gets to work again. If your view is that no amount of change or apology is enough to forgive someone who's wronged you, and that you have the power to decide whether or not that individual gets to earn a living or not, then you're an unreasonable person.

Those of us who have watched his journey from cancellation, to growth and redemption, we believe in him. We've seen him change. We've watched him take all of the right steps, not knowing if it would make a difference or get him his career back, but because it was the right thing to do. During that time, he's been hired back for roles at multiple studios, while OTHER voice actors who've faced cancellation have not. Why? Because his situation is different from theirs, and warranted welcoming him back.

My hope in voicing support for Chris is to broaden the discussion and provide another side to the story. Right now Twitter/X is drowning in negativity, with death threats and calls for his firing running rampant. This type of toxic discourse is why I left the platform back in 2023 and no longer post there. I keep an account to respond to casting calls and auditions for my job, but I refuse to add fuel to the heaping trashfire that it is. I know posting this puts me at risk for the same sort of vitriol that Chris is facing right now. I don't care. I would rather stand up for my colleague than remain silent.

I don't know if there's much more for me to say beyond this. I'm sorry if I do not respond to your comments, I have tried to be as thorough as possible with this post. Judge it's validity for yourself. Thank you for being so supportive as a fan base up until now. I'm sorry if this changes your view of me, but I felt in my heart of hearts that this was the right thing to do. I hope you understand.