Voice actress and impressionist Rachel Butera posted a video of herself on social media mocking the voice of Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Butera voices Leia Organa in the upcoming Star Wars Resistance animated series and several Star Wars fans are upset that she was poking fun at the alleged victim of misconduct. Butera quickly deleted the social media post and then offered an apology. Disney and Lucasfilm have yet to respond as of this writing.
Dr. Blasey Ford testified to Congress about her alleged assault at the hands of Brett Kavanaugh this morning, and Rachel Butera decided to make a video where she mocked her voice. "I sound like I'm back at that high school party, I can't help it," Butera said, referring to the allegations that Ford was sexually assaulted at a party in the early 1980s. In the now-deleted video, Butera went further. She had this to say in the voice of Dr. Blasey Ford.
"I just have this kind of a voice, like a baby, even though I'm a doctor and I'm on this media circus, political stage, and I have kids myself, that I don't know why I speak with vocal fry. But you can listen to my testimony and hear that a grown woman sounds this way."
Rachel Butera's impression quickly started to spread across social media, offending many, especially Star Wars fans who are not thrilled that the woman voicing Leia Organa on the Star Wars Resistance series was mocking an alleged sexual assault victim. One fan said, "Shame on you, Carrie Fisher would be appalled." Others have started to tag Disney and Lucasfilm to ask that Butera be removed from the show before the premiere. In the aftermath of Disney firing James Gunn from Guardians of the Galaxy 3, several fans are looking for equal treatment.
Dr. Blasey Ford is leading a resistance attempting to stand up against Brett Kavanaugh and the Donald Trump White House, like a real-life Leia Organa, according to several Star Wars fans. Ford was trembling while giving her testimony this morning, leading one fan to simply ask Rachel Butera, "what the hell is wrong with you?" Chloe Dykstra, who also recently revealed her own struggles with sexual assault allegations, had this to say.
"You currently lend your voice to the role of one of the most admired, powerful women in film history. Children look up to you. Just a reminder."
Rachel Butera rose to fame after appearing on the Howard Stern show, highlighting her impressive impressions of members of his staff as well as some famous cast members. She also appeared on America's Got Talent, but was eliminated. However, exposure on the talent show and Stern's caught the attention of the William Morris Agency, allowing her to quit her corporate job and work as a voice actress fulltime. Since then, Butera has appeared on Family Guy and the reboot of Murphy Brown. She has since apologized for the impression. You can no longer read the apology below since Butera has now locked her account. For now, you can get more Star Wars Resistance news over at StarWars.com.