The ongoing scandal surrounding Pierre Taki's drug use has made its way to the Kingdom Hearts universe, as Square Enix has announced that it will be changing the voice of Olaf from Frozen in Kingdom Hearts III in a future update since he was voiced by Taki.
Pierre Taki is the stage name of Masanori Taki, who is the frontman of a Japanese synthpop called Denki Groove. Taki is also known for his voice-over work, as he has provided the voice for Olaf in the Japanese versions of Frozen and Kingdom Hearts III.
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On March 13, 2019, Pierre Taki was arrested as part of a drug bust involving cocaine. This caused Sega to immediately halt the sales of Judgement, which features the voice of Taki as one of the characters in the game. Square Enix is following Sega's example and has released an update on its Japanese website, which states that Olaf's voice will be redubbed and the new voice will be added later as part of an update.
Square Enix did not mention who will replace Pierre Taki as the voice of Olaf, nor when the update will be made available. The international versions of Kingdom Hearts III will be unaffected by these issues, as Olaf is voiced by Josh Gad in other regions.
It goes to show how serious drug charges are treated in Japan since companies would go to such drastic measures in order to avoid any kind of association with the perpetrator. When entertainers are caught (or admit to taking) drugs, they are treated as if it's part of the celebrity lifestyle, even those associated with projects aimed at kids. Gangster rappers have been allowed on Sesame Street, such as the time when Ice Cube turned himself into an actual ice cube to impress Elmo, which shows much we care.
Kingdom Hearts III is due to receive updates in the form of DLC, such as the upcoming "Critical Mode," so it's likely that Olaf's new dub will be added as part of that update,.
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