JonTron’s Voice Dropped From Yooka-Laylee

Playtonic Games’ Yooka-Laylee, a successfully crowdfunded spiritual successor to the colorful platformer Banjo-Kazooie, is a few weeks away from releasing to the public. But due to a recent controversy with internet personality JonTron, the studio has decided to remove his minor voice-acting role in the game’s day one patch.

JonTron – also commonly known as Jon Jafari – is a prominent voice in the YouTube gaming community. The founder of the network Normal Boots and the host of a popular gaming YouTube channel with over three million subscribers, Jafari is a name beloved by many for his video content. However, he recently announced several far-right views on his Twitter account, such extreme claims include the concept of “white genocide” in the idea that Mexican immigrants are trying to take over parts of America or that racial discrimination doesn’t exist anymore. This escalated into a video stream with other voices such as the vocally far-right sectionalist Sargon of Akkad and it only became more pronounced from there.

This is important because back when Playtonic was working on Yooka-Laylee in February 2015, Jafari mentioned to the studio that he was a big fan of Banjo-Kazooie. In response, Playtonic invited him to voice a minor character in the game, which he accepted.

But in response to his most recent actions and words, Playtonic has decided to remove him from the game. This will happen through a day one patch to the game when it releases on April 11. Playtonic gave an official statement to gamesindustry.biz on this action, stating the following:

“JonTron is a talented video presenter who we were initially, two years ago, happy to include as a voice contributor in our game. However, in light of his recent personal viewpoints we have made the decision to remove JonTron’s inclusion in the game via a forthcoming content update. We would like to make absolutely clear that we do not endorse or support JonTron’s personal viewpoints and that, as an external fan contributor, he does not represent Playtonic in any capacity. Playtonic is a studio that celebrates diversity in all forms and strives to make games that everyone can enjoy. As such, we deeply regret any implied association that could make players feel anything but 100% comfortable in our game worlds, or distract from the incredible goodwill and love shown by our fans and Kickstarter backers.”

Share this article:

Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
LinkedIn
Share on tumblr
Tumblr
Share on email
Email
Share on whatsapp
WhatsApp

Recent Posts

Master Chief holding his helmet. Halo Infinite Features

What Halo Infinite Should Have Been

https://youtu.be/Cagxj2RchQI?si=_fFf3fs_fsh7d0Fq Many people have a gaming franchise that changed their life in some way. I have life-long friendships that have been formed while playing games like Mario Kart and Golden …

Gaming News

Should You Buy A Meta Quest 3S?

https://youtu.be/EVSbA2Yxx2k?si=G2KXmPguAB_45u5n Meta recencetly heald their Meta Connect conference and announced some excited things if you’re into VR and AR. The Meta Quest 2 was once the hottest item in their …

Halo Project Foundry Gaming News

What Is The Future of Halo?

https://youtu.be/a2CCRgycbLI?si=3juhSUwirUTpKWoJ There have been rumors for years about what is next for Halo. Today during the Halo World Championships, we got our answers. 343 Industries will now be known as …

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind Gaming News

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind | Developer Interview

It may surprise many, but there has never been a Power Rangers arcade beat ’em up game. (I know right!?!?!) Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind is a passion project …

Jay and Silent Bob: Chronic Blunt Punch Gaming News

Jay and Silent Bob: The Chronic Blunt Punch | PAX West 2024

Going into PAX West 2024, I knew that I was going to enjoy ‘Jay and Silent Bob: The Chronic Blunt Punch’, but I did not know it was going to be …

Gaming News

Undisputed at PAX West 2024

Ash Habib has a true passion for boxing and Undisputed is his love letter to the sport. ‪@PlayUndisputed‬ aims to be both a technical and fun boxing game. The game …