Tencent Denies Claim From Alanah Pearce That They Demand “No Black People” And Want Bigger Breasts On Female Characters In Films And Games

Violet's mind is assaulted by illusions of herself prior to acquiring her Demonic Morphed skin via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena
Violet's mind is assaulted by illusions of herself prior to acquiring her Demonic Morphed skin via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

Tencent denied claims that they not only forbid black people from appearing in their films and games, but also that they insist on female characters having larger breasts. 

Krixi floats and smirks over a fallen foe via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

Krixi floats and smirks over a fallen foe via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

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The claim was made by Alanah Pearce a former games journalist, Santa Monica Studio games writer, and voice actress. In an interview with Twitch streamer The Serfs, Pearce discussed Chinese tech and media giant, Tencent.

“They also have a bunch of problematic sh-t,” Pearce denounced. “I have a friend who had a film that was offered to be made by Tencent, or funded by Tencent, and they were like ‘no black people!’ ‘Bigger tits!'”

Alanah Pearce discusses Tencent's alleged preferences when funding or producing films and games with Lance of The Serfs via Twitch

Alanah Pearce discusses Tencent’s alleged preferences when funding or producing films and games with Lance of The Serfs via Twitch

“Like, a lot of rules that they have […] that I think also has had a hand in you know, some AAA games,” Pearce speculated, before hastily adding “Again I don’t wanna speak on any of this because I’m so worried about getting sued by Tencent.”

“But this is what I’ve heard, rumors, not sure if any of this is true,” Pearce emphasized. “But even games that are out, where they were like ‘Yeah that character needs to have bigger tits’ or ‘You need to make her skin lighter’ type s**t.”

Qi punches her palm via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

Qi punches her palm via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

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“Again, I know that more of the film industry, and that’s outside of content that’s like ‘no ghosts!'” Pearce explained, mentioning Chinese media typically banning depictions of ghosts, spirits, and the undead. “They just have weird rules like that.”

“I think we should be way more concerned about Tencent than we should be about Microsoft,” Pearce insisted, regarding their recent efforts to acquire Activision Blizzard.

Wonder Woman takes to the air

Diana (Gal Gadot) leaps to take out an enemy soldier during the Liberation of Veld in Wonder Woman (2017), Warner Bros, Pictures via Blu-ray

In a statement to The Gamer, Tencent stated “The views attributed to Tencent by Alanah Pearce are contrary to our beliefs, culture and values. At this point they are also just rumors. But we do take the matter seriously, and if it turns out someone affiliated with Tencent did in fact make such a statement we will take appropriate action.”

While state-mandated media censorship in China is well known, China has also shown outright rejection of black actors and characters. This ranges from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Black Adam both being denied a release in China, and the Chinese Star Wars: The Force Awakens posters reducing the size of John Boyega’s Finn.

Actor John Boyega also quit being the Jo Malone global ambassador, after being replaced by a Chinese actor Liu Haoran for the Chinese region. 

Raz blows the steam off his molten gauntlets via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

Raz blows the steam off his molten gauntlets via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

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While Tencent allegedly rejecting black characters would make sense given how the country’s censors have previously reacted, it may be a surprise that they allegedly pushed for larger chested women. Ever since the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign of 1983, China has banned pornography.

As such, fan-service is also under scrutiny. New regulations in 2021 emphasized the ban on “exposure” such as panty-shots, and showing prostitutes — and likely other smutty characters that act against the Communist Chinese government’s values. 

Taara shows off her Summer Bash skin via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

Taara shows off her Summer Bash skin via Arena of Valor (2016), Level Infinite, Garena

Despite this, there are gacha games with scantily clad female characters operating in China. While typically censoring their clothing or restricting how the camera can move, they keep their  physique. Though there have been incidents of characters being outright removed such as in Azur Lane

Likewise, censorship in western games from Chinese studios has been met with speculation that the developers are complying with China’s policies at the expense of their own domestic fans.

In October last year, Nexon announced Blue Archive would split into censored and uncensored versions — aside from the Korean and Global versions. Along with having received warnings from the Korean Game Rating and Administration Committee, the global version had previously met demands from Chinese censors. 

mila jovavich in monster hunter

Natalie Artemis (Milla Jovovich) and Hunter (Tony Jaa) brace themselves for the next fight via Monster Hunter (2020), Sony Pictures

However, the allegation is muddled when looking at Tencent Pictures’ filmography, particularly in joint ventures as a production company on western films. These include Kong: Skull Island, Wonder Woman, Venom, Bumblebee, Men in Black: International, Terminator: Dark Fate, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, Monster Hunter, Extinct, Moonfall, and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. 

The above feature black actors and actresses in some roles, and aren’t particularly famed for having well-endowed actresses. Was Pearce’s source mistaken? Or have Tencent met resistance when making similar demands in the past?

Kong is overpowered by a giant Skullcrawler in Kong: Skull Island (2017), Warner Bros. Pictures

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