Original Avatar actor Michaela Jill Murphy has asked fans to stop engaging with the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie leak.
Murphy voiced Toph Beifong in the animated series. Taking to TikTok, Murphy told fans to respect the creatives involved by ignoring the leak.
"Stop talking about it, and stop sharing things about it," Murphy said. "I'm Michaela Jill Murphy, AKA Jessie Flower, the original voice of Toph Beifong in the original Avatar: The Last Airbender series on Nickelodeon. And, if you want to be respectful, and if you want to know how I feel, stop sharing it. Stop consuming it. Stop talking about it, and watch it when it comes out. That's what I'm doing. And if you want to respect the creators, and respect the cast, and respect me, and respect the art, then stop sharing it, and editing it, and looking at it, and commenting about it."
Then, switching into Toph's voice, Murphy continued: "The key to Earthbending is your stance. You've got to be steady and strong. Rock is a stubborn element, so if you're going to move it, you've got to be like a rock yourself."
Going back to her regular voice, she finished: "So, maybe just practice some discipline and patience. Flag videos where you see clips from it. Respect the art and respect the creators. I know everybody might not listen, but that's not a reason for you not to listen. Just be respectful and wait. That's how I feel about it."
Avatar: Aang footage leaked online earlier this month. "I saw it's just a Paramount Plus thing, so I decided I'd troll a little bit," the leaker said. But, a separate person then leaked the entire movie.
"I don't like seeing people use Paramount's awful decision to remove the movie from theaters to justify leaking it," said one animator after the leak. "I totally understand folks not wanting to pay for/support Paramount Plus, but pirating the movie after its release would have at least been better than this. This is incredibly disrespectful to all of the hard work the artists put in."
Avatar: Aang, The Last Airbender will release on Paramount Plus this October 9. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the new anime coming soon, or the best anime to fill out your watchlist.
