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English voice actor of Misty and Jessie in the Pokémon anime has cancer

Multievolution

Multievolution

Member
Jun 5, 2018
3,253
Her name is Rachel Lillis, there's quite a few voice actors who have posted about it on Twitter, though she herself hasn't.

It sounds really bad, she can barely walk because of it, her sibling has posted a gofundme to try and help, since she needs a carer. I wanted to spread awareness where I could, maybe it will make a difference.

She's the original voice of the character in English, so anyone in the 90's to early 2000's who's watched the series will likely know of her.

mod edit: please don't post gofundmes
 
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Lemony1984

Lemony1984

Member
Jul 7, 2020
6,819
That's awful. Thanks for sharing. Will definitely throw in some money and try and spread awareness.
 
Hercule

Hercule

Member
Jun 20, 2018
5,616
Think it's important to note that this is the first voice actor of Misty. Nevertheless terrible, terrible news. Rachael Lillis also voiced Jigglypuff, I think they still recycle those samples. Amazing voice actress
 
PeakPointMatrix

PeakPointMatrix

Member
Oct 25, 2017
19,450
Damn, how horrible. I can't believe there aren't any programs for care to provide her with the help she needs at home.
 
Hilarious_Bearious

Hilarious_Bearious

Member
Nov 4, 2017
7,485
It's already disgusting that people need to have GoFundMes for basic care they require. It's just wild when a person who's a long-term voice actor for the biggest IP in history has to do it.

I hope she gets whatever care and treatment she needs :(
 
Laephis

Laephis

Member
Jun 25, 2021
2,674
Horrible situation. It just burns me up that people in this country need a gofundme for such essential healthcare.
 
Katbobo

Katbobo

Member
May 3, 2022
5,528
That's so incredibly sad. She's really young too, only 45 and having to deal with being in a nursing home with at-home care. Fuck cancer, and fuck our healthcare system that puts her family into a situation like this.
 
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri

Dynamite Ringo Matsuri

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,800
Damn I had no idea she was so young. I was 14 when Pokemon first aired and she's just barely out of high school playing Misty and Jessie. That's mind blowing to me. That's so fucking depressing that people need to resort to gofundme for critical care. You'd think TPC with their gozillions of dollars could chip in and help or something :(
 
Dan L

Dan L

Tried to PM someone for a tag
Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,191
Regina, Saskatchewan
This is terribly sad and even more frustrating the need to use gofundme.

That said, just to be safe is there evidence that this is legit? Nothing on google search regarding Rachel comes up nor on her twitter or anything, I would hate for people to be getting scammed.
 
B-Dubs

B-Dubs

That's some catch, that catch-22
General Manager
Oct 25, 2017
33,315
Actually, seems like it's legit.
 
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PAFenix

PAFenix

Unshakable Resolve
Member
Nov 21, 2019
15,057
For a company as big as The Pokemon Company, you'd think they can afford to pay their VAs royalties with how much sound bytes get (potentially reused). I'm also sure older seasons still get sold as new generations age into the series. I dunno.

Just sad that someone needs a gofundme for health services. Fuck the healthcare system. Fuck cancer.
 
Hollywood Duo

Hollywood Duo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
42,808
PAFenix said:
For a company as big as The Pokemon Company, you'd think they can afford to pay their VAs royalties with how much sound bytes get (potentially reused). I'm also sure older seasons still get sold as new generations age into the series. I dunno.

Just sad that someone needs a gofundme for health services. Fuck the healthcare system. Fuck cancer.
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Is she not part of the VA Union? I guess not? Im not familiar with her doing any other work.
 
Star-Lord

Star-Lord

Member
Oct 25, 2017
6,922
That fucking sucks I love her as misty and currently they raised 13,000 out of the 20,000. Hope she gets all the support ❤️
 
Merc_

Merc_

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 28, 2017
6,569
That's horrible. Luckily, it seems like fans are coming through for her (even though it sucks that gofundme is even necessary for something like this).

Fuck Cancer.
 
Strider_Blaze

Strider_Blaze

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,089
Lancaster, CA
Definitely grew up with her along with Veronica Taylor and Eric Stuart when I watched the original Pokémon anime back in the day. Can only hope for the best for Rachel and she gets the funding she needs.

Fuck cancer!
 
chronos4590

chronos4590

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,364
When I saw this thread before, it was at around 2-3k with 60 donations. Maybe 2-3 hours later Its surpassed its goal already!
Wishing her well and recovery. LOVE her in The Slayers, and Utena, and her tenure in Pokemon has been unmatched. The female anime dub voice of the 90s honestly.
 
OP
OP
Multievolution

Multievolution

Member
Jun 5, 2018
3,253
chronos4590 said:
When I saw this thread before, it was at around 2-3k with 60 donations. Maybe 2-3 hours later Its surpassed its goal already!
Wishing her well and recovery. LOVE her in The Slayers, and Utena, and her tenure in Pokemon has been unmatched. The female anime dub voice of the 90s honestly.
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Hopefully the support makes a difference here, to say she impacted millions of childhoods would be an understatement.
 
BlackLagoon

BlackLagoon

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,806
Hollywood Duo said:
Is she not part of the VA Union? I guess not? Im not familiar with her doing any other work.
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Until very recently, Pokemon was non-union. And I believe most of Lillis' career has been non-union. In order to qualify for the union's health plan, a member needs to be getting a fair bit of union roles, and I wouldn't be surprised if she fell short.
 
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