Resident Evil 4 Ada Wong Actress Breaks Silence on Fan Harassment

By Tyler Fischer

Resident Evil 4 Remake released last month, and according to most critics and consumers alike, it's one of the best remakes ever made and an early Game of the Year contender. That said, it has its shortcomings and its underwhelming parts. In short, it's not perfect. One of the bigger criticisms of the game has been Lily Gao's performance as Ada Wong, which, according to some fans, isn't at the same level as other performances in the game. As you may know, this is Gao's first time portraying the character in a game after previously playing the character in the live-action Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

Criticism of the portrayal garnered a lot of attention on social media, which in turn led to harassment and bullying. This led Gao to shut down her social media. That said, Gao has now turned her Instagram back on and broken her silence on the matter with a new post.

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"Being the first Asian actor to portray Ada in the Resident Evil video games is an honor, and I will forever be grateful to our producer and director, for making the decision on authentic representation," reads the post from Gao. "It's unfortunate that with the game's release, also came the all too familiar feeling of 'I don't belong'. 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. It is time we stop only capitalizing on the sexualized, eroticized, and mysterious Asian woman, and make space to honour every kind of Asian woman. My Ada is a survivor. She is kind, just, intelligent, and funny. She is unpredictable, resilient, and absolutely not a stereotype."

At the moment of publishing, Capcom has not issued any type of comment on the situation. If this changes, we will be sure to update the story accordingly. And the same goes for any additonal statements from Gao, but so far this post is the only thing she's had to say about the matter.

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