David Wald, known for his role as Gajeel in the Fairy Tail English dub, has announced he is cutting ties with Crunchyroll and won’t be returning to the company’s studio. On Nov. 11, Wald took to X (formerly Twitter) to make this revelation, pointing out “numerous abuses” as his primary reason for stepping away.
He has promised fans that he will soon share a detailed account of his experiences and grievances with Crunchyroll on his Twitch channel. “Friends, I am not returning to #Gajeel in #FairyTail. I am not returning to the @Crunchyroll studio,” Wald posted, hinting at a more extensive disclosure to come. “Their abuses are FAR too numerous to list here. But soon, I will tell you all of them.”
Fairy Tail Voice Actor Leaves Crunchyroll
This statement follows a previous post by Wald on Oct. 25, where he accused Crunchyroll of tampering with his mail. Wald shared photos to substantiate his claim that Crunchyroll had opened and even distributed mail that was intended solely for him. In response, Crunchyroll publicly addressed the matter, stating on Oct. 27 that it would investigate and insisting it would never deliberately open or interfere with packages not directly addressed to the company. As of Wald’s most recent statement on Nov. 11, no further updates on this investigation have been provided by Crunchyroll.
Wald’s grievances go beyond mail tampering. Fellow voice actor Alexis Tipton, whose portfolio includes roles such as Kaguya Shinomiya in Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and Reze in Chainsaw Man, also voiced frustrations with Crunchyroll’s practices. Tipton mentioned examples like Crunchyroll’s apparent disregard for voice actors in various ways, including a lack of perks typically provided in the industry.
Tipton revealed that while Crunchyroll’s regular staff often received free merchandise, the same was not extended to voice actors. Additionally, she noted that actors no longer receive free copies of the shows they work on and are left out of company events like holiday parties.
In her statement, Tipton described the actors’ experiences with Crunchyroll as feeling like “a product.” Wald agreed, responding with a pointed metaphor: “We’re staplers, We’re post-it notes. We’re fragile, but we’re replaceable. We’re office supplies.”
Wald has voiced numerous well-known characters in anime, including Tetsutetsu in My Hero Academia, Hannes in Attack on Titan, and Askeladd in Vinland Saga, along with ADR direction credits for series like The Case Study of Vanitas and Given.
With Crunchyroll and Funimation involved in over 45 million copyright takedown requests and Crunchyroll’s status as a global leader in anime streaming with over 15 million paid subscribers, this is a significant blow to the company’s reputation. Fans and industry insiders alike are now watching closely, awaiting Wald’s next move on Twitch as he prepares to share the full scope of his experiences with Crunchyroll.
