UPDATE: Joey Camen has released a statement of apology regarding the videos. In a statement to Screen Rant, he explained that he believed his comedy was “edgy” - the same videos labelled by others as transphobic and racist - but that it does not “come from a place of hate,” although he still removed the videos because it was the “right thing to do.” His full statement follows:

ORIGINAL STORY: There’s a new controversy surrounding Devil May Cry 5 that isn’t to do with tactfully placed streaks of light on the PlayStation 4 version or with underwhelming secret endings. This time, it’s to do with the voice actor who plays Morrison, Joey Camen. Thanks to fan sleuthing, there are some DMC 5 racist allegations arising from problematic videos floating around on Camen’s personal YouTube account.

“I’m sorry and I truly apologize to anyone who was offended. Look, I have been a professional standup comedian, actor and voice actor my entire adult life. I do voices and impressions for a living. I am also Jewish and I grew up in Detroit in primarily black neighborhoods. The voices and characters I do reflect my life experiences and admiration for the people I grew up with. The videos I did were comedy parodies with characters speaking in their vernacular. Some of my comedy is edgy, and everyone is entitled to their own opinion as to what they think is funny, but please do not refer to me being racist or otherwise. I do not come from a place of hate in any of my work. I removed the videos because I thought it was the right thing to do. And, please note that I never posted a video with myself in blackface. I was wearing a multicolored ski mask and doing a music review of an artist’s new album as a character. Comedy is subjective.

Sincerely,

Joey Camen”

Joey Camen being the voice of Morrison was a controversy in itself because of the fact that the character he plays is a person of color, while Camen himself is white. The DMC 5 racist allegations started percolating when transphobic and racist videos surfaced once fans of the series did some digging on Camen’s media channels.

Eurogamer has now reported on the content that Camen has since removed from his personal YouTube channel. The DMC 5 racist allegations apparently have to do with videos where Camen “dons blackface, pretends to be black, and says the n-word” as part of supposedly comedic content. Apparently, Camen’s YouTube channel was used by him to upload comedy sketches which were meant to be “outrageous,” including sketches where he puts on blackface and acts out offensive racist and transphobic stereotypes.

This sort of behavior from Camen surfacing in today’s climate is problematic at the very least, and the fact that the actor has not commented and instead chosen to take all the content down instead may not have been the smartest PR move available. Considering the fact that Dante’s voice actor, Reuben Langdon, has also been in hot water recently over comments made regarding hot button topics like #MeToo and Black Lives Matter, it’s been a rather tumultuous time for these DMC 5 racist allegations.

The title’s only been out for a few weeks, but this sort of news prior to the launch would have likely had a much more devastating effect than it’s having now on the game. At this stage, it looks like the PR blowback has been mostly on Camen for his racist and transphobic views as expressed in his personal content, and rightfully so. We can only hope that Camen takes accountability for the things that he’s said and done in the past, even if the situation of him voicing Morrison will perennially be problematic in its own way.

More: Devil May Cry 5’s PS4 Version Was Weirdly Censored

Source: Eurogamer