The Last of Us actor Troy Baker has taken to Twitter to publicly apologise for his partnership with VoiceVerse NFT.
“Thank you all for your feedback and patience, ” reads Baker’s Twitter post. “After careful consideration, I’ve decided not to continue the partnership with VoiceVerse NFT. Intentions aside, I’ve heard you and apologize for accusing anyone of “hating” just by simply disagreeing with me.”
Thank you all for your feedback and patience. After careful consideration, I’ve decided to not continue the partnership with VoiceVerseNFT. Intentions aside, I’ve heard you and apologize for accusing anyone of “hating” just by simply disagreeing with me.
— Troy Baker (@TroyBakerVA) January 31, 2022
Baker withdrew from social media after announcing he was getting involved with the company. Baker’s original post prompted backlash over the way he phrased the announcement, with many considering it antagonistic or preemptively defensive. “We all have a story to tell. You can hate. Or you can create,” read the original post. “What’ll it be?”
For most, this seemed like a jab at people who are (quite fairly) sceptical of NFTs and the people who are spruiking them. In addition to the many valid concerns about discrete phrases created using famous voices, and the impact of NFTs and crypto on the environment, VoiceVerse NFT itself was quickly found to be in the business of stealing other people’s work.
I’m partnering with @VoiceverseNFT to explore ways where together we might bring new tools to new creators to make new things, and allow everyone a chance to own & invest in the IP’s they create.
We all have a story to tell.
You can hate.
Or you can create.
What’ll it be? pic.twitter.com/cfDGi4q0AZ— Troy Baker (@TroyBakerVA) January 14, 2022
This kind of practice is not uncommon in the NFT world. Many NFT startups quite happily steal copyrighted works when minting new tokens. They do this because the space is an unregulated Wild West. Once these tokens and images exist on the Blockchain, there’s currently very little anyone, even the copyright holder, can do about it.
As social media ire flowed, Baker explained his side of the story in greater detail on the Play, Watch, Listen podcast. Baker is one of the podcast’s four regular hosts, with video game writer Alanah Pearce, composer Austin Wintory, and game designer Mike Bithell. Baker appeared cowed throughout the podcast, expressing dismay at how his tweet had been taken.
Though Baker has certainly been through it in the last few weeks, it’s good to see him pull out of the scam and make things right. May Baker’s error serve as a bellwether for any other actors or creatives being lured into the NFT grift.
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