Zoey Alexandria "The Unknown" Transphobia Controversy (Dead by Daylight)

Added by Phillip Hamilton • Updated 26 days ago by Zach

Category: Event Status: Submission Year: 2024 Origin: X / Twitter Region: United States

Type: Controversy

Tags: zoey alexandria the unknown voice actor dead by daylight trans trans killer dead by daylight unknown dead by daylight transgender lgbtq controversies gaming video games

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K*rsche @KirscheVerstahl I fully expect the studio to bend over backwards apologising, even if the idea of reparations for a VA role is ridiculous this gets a bit funnier when you realize the Unknown mimics its victims after it kills them, so it can wear the skin of anybody. Default skin appears to be a male, while the skin appears to be a female victim. Also even if the VA didn't know what the character model looked like, it's recorded that they did both the male and female lines for the character, so surely they had some idea of what the character was and that it would look as if it fits in a horror game? CREDITS RT CH transvoice teacher and metal vocali ale voices heard from The Unknown, work. GREEN THIS OUTFIT C UN

Dweet @dvveet The Unknown is voiced by Zoey Alexandria! A transgender vocal teacher and metal vocalist. And yes, she voices both the female and male sounding Unknown voices! She specializes in this sort of vocal training. 1:19 PM - Mar 12, 2024 501.9K Views

Zoeyalexandriaofficial @Zoeyalexandria9 There has been a recent misunderstanding. Anybody that thinks the skins are going away is not in the loop. Behavior is allegedly aware of the mass transphobic remarks and memes being made, and the gaming community is not a reflection of the game developers. I wasn't kept in the loop with what the characters final look would be, I was given an ambiguous description for the part, and even though I tried my best to find out more, continually asking for more info, that wasn't possible. This is why I was upset. The skins themselves were never the issue. Lack of communication was. Please STOP "Boycotting" Behavior. They are NOT transphobic, it's wrong to take bits of info and jump to your own conclusions. Behavior is a good company, and has been nothing but kind and supporting through this tough process of receiving mass harassment for my involvement in the character. Leave. It. A..lo-ne. - Zoey Alexandria Last edited 3:32 PM Mar 14, 2024 25.8K Views

Zoey Alexandria 1 hour ago (edited) Regarding My Recent Viral Witch-Hanging: I voiced the character "the unknown" in dead by daylight. At the time of voicing, it was a great experience. I was told at the time I was voicing the character that there was no model and that the creature was supposed to be amorphous. They had no model design before I recorded my lines. So it's my assumption that the design team, took my medical history, and my ability to use multiple voices as an opportunity to create character models that encapsulate my medical history as trans, and capitalize on catering to the transphobic community. I was tricked into voicing a stereotype. Since yesterday, I have been virally harassed for being trans, by thousands of people since yesterday. Many folks in the trans community are up in arms over this and rightfully so. I feel that reparations from the team that deliberately tricked me is the only logical next choice of action. I am so upset, so infuriated that people are comparing trans-people to these clearly TRANSPHOBIC character skins. If I had any idea of the fallout that would happen after simply voicing a character, I never would have in the first place. Let me personally apologize to anybody who has been a victim of transphobia due to this release. Please know you are loved. Know that you are valid. As for me, I am not okay. This has ruined my reputation, has put me physically at risk for being attacked in public if anybody recognizes my face or voice. There were no diversity consultants on this project. The company knew that making a stereotypical "man in a dress" as a character and having a TRANS voice actress voice it, would bring lots of money and people back to the game. I'm not dumb, I know how marketing works. This seems to be a huge ploy and the trans-community along with myself were the victims.

Rawrell @_rawrell >New Dead by Daylight killer is a deformed freak in a skirt >voiced by a trans VA What in the ever-living H*CK did the devs mean by this? Maxidaxy GREEN BILLEN THIS OUTFIT 250 250 UN

Overview • Background • Developments • Online Reactions •

Category: Event Status: Submission Year: 2024 Origin: X / Twitter Region: United States

Type: Controversy

Tags: zoey alexandria the unknown voice actor dead by daylight trans trans killer dead by daylight unknown dead by daylight transgender lgbtq controversies gaming video games

Overview

Zoey Alexandria "The Unknown" Transphobia Controversy refers to a controversy surrounding the release of the Dead by Daylight killer called The Unknown, who is voiced by trans voice actor Zoey Alexandria. In the days following the release of the character, some members of the trans community expressed concerns that the character's appearance was transphobic. Following the backlash, Alexandria made a post claiming she was unhappy with the model for the character, calling it an offensive trans "stereotype."

Background

On March 12th, 2024, Behaviour Interactive released the "All Things Wicked" update for Dead by Daylight. The update includes a new killer character, The Unknown, who is a genderless shapeshifting being that can adapt its appearance as needed (trailer shown below, left, lore video shown below, right).^[1]

Trans voice actor Zoey Alexandria voices the character, using both a more masculine and feminine voice that alternates depending on the killer's lines. One of the character's costumes is a cheerleader outfit.

Following the update's release, some members of the trans community voiced concerns that the killer's depiction was transphobic. For example, on March 13th, a Dead by Daylight forum^[2] user made a post expressing concerns with the character and its skins that reads, in part:

"The cheerleader outfit in particular evokes a rather harmful stereotype of trans women, a masculinized body in feminine clothing that’s depicted as dangerous and grotesque. The fact The Unknown happens to be voiced by a trans woman (which otherwise would be a such a great excited piece of trivia) makes the choice to launch with these cosmetics feel particularly egregious."

Developments

Discussions about the character continued to spread on social media over the following days. On March 14th, 2024, X^[3] user @_rawrell posted an image of the character, writing, ">New Dead by Daylight killer is a deformed freak in a skirt >voiced by a trаոѕ VA What in the ever-living H*CK did the devs mean by this?" garnering over 15,000 likes in under a day (shown below, left).

The same X^[4] user then shared a screenshot of a post by Alexandria in which she claimed there was no model for The Unknown while she was recording the voice lines, but that she found the final model transphobic. She apologized to anyone who was harassed over the character, claims voicing the character has "ruined her reputation," writing, "The company knew that making a stereotypical 'man in a dress' as a character and having a TRANS voice actress voice it, would bring lots of money and people back to the game. I'm not dumb, I know how marketing works" (shown below, right).

Later that day, Alexandria made a follow-up post on X^[5] clarifying her original statement, writing, "I wasn’t kept in the loop with what the characters final look would be, I was given an ambiguous description for the part, and even though I tried my best to find out more, continually asking for more info, that wasn’t possible. This is why I was upset. The skins themselves were never the issue. Lack of communication was" (shown below). She discouraged people from participating in "boycotting behavior" and added, "They are NOT transphobic."

Online Reactions

The character and controversy surrounding it inspired reactions on sites like X / Twitter and 4chan, including memes many perceived as transphobic towards Alexandria and memes criticizing Behaviour Interactive. On March 14th, 2024, a thread was started on 4chan's^[6] /pol/ board about the character design, titled "Accurate Trans Depiction."

On the same day, X^[7] user @KirscheVerstahl posted an opinion on the controversy, writing, "I fully expect the studio to bend over backwards apologising, even if the idea of reparations for a VA role is ridiculous," garnering over 6,500 likes in a day (shown below).

On March 15th, another thread about the character was started on 4chan's^[8] /pol/ board titled, "Dead by daylight devs being insanely based," inspiring over 300 comments in under a day. On the same day, X^[9] user @MelonieMac posted, "Oh look, Dead by Daylight released an accurate trans character and troons are mad 🤣," garnering over 5,700 likes in under a day.

Later that day, Ricky Berwick posted a meme to X^[10] about the controversy, garnering over 21,000 likes in under a day (shown below).

Some commenters and users accused Berwick of being transphobic over the post. For example, X^[11] user @Rinne_Z_rank quote-reposted it, writing, "Not surprised Ricky Berwick is transphobic Man's a genuine piece of shit," garnering over 3,600 likes in the same span of time.