Vic Mignogna Lawsuit |OT| Hold My Beard (Update: Appeal lost, Mignogna must pay attorney fees to defendants)

Sibersk Esto · Jan 21, 2019

Over the past few weeks with the release of Dragon Ball Super: Broly, accusations and stories have piled up mainly from convention goers about Mignogna's alleged antisemitic comments, general unease with LGBTQ+ elements in anime and fandom, and sexual misconduct with young, presumably starstruck con goers (hugging, kissing, groping, inviting them up to his hotel room). It's been virtually impossible to search for his name on Twitter without seeing it. This morning Mignogna released a statement.

If anyone has any added information about this I would add it to the OP.

EDIT: Resetera posters have been able to secure some of the allegations/video examples of some of the allegations. I will include them here:

MrSaturn99 said:
By the way, here's a great deconstruction of the letter:

Dio Over Heaven said:
I've been hearing stories about him for YEARS. Like, a decade ago at least.

He has actually been banned from multiple conventions. The stories about him picking up tons of underage fangirls are all over the internet.

https://www.google.com/amp/conventionhorrorstories.tumblr.com/post/36910875571/con-memoirs/amp

Example. From 2012

Dio Over Heaven said:
There's a more besides these from that thread, too.

Dio Over Heaven said:
Also, look up "vic mignogna kissed me" on YouTube.

http://conventionhorrorstories.tumblr.com/post/36910875571/con-memoirs

there's even the Tumblr based entirely around underage girls anonymously confessing what he's done to them

http://vicmeggnognahorrorstories.tumblr.com

http://vicmeggnognahorrorstories.tumblr.com/post/37222159003/the-saga-of-knights-and-mangina

Mewshuji said:
Decided just to make a seperate post. Here ya go OP Sibersk Esto

With regards to sexual conduct:

Flirtatiously acting out a scene from an anime he was in with an underaged girl.

An account of him groping a fan.

Account of him fondling a 16 year old fan on the butt

And another of him being very 'handsy', to put it in the author's words, with a 14 year old. There are many more stories like this.

This pic has been floating around, however I've heard some say the person being kissed by him was an adult at the time and didn't actually mind it, was just surprised. Either way it's worth posting here given how many times I've seen it.

There are also a number of videos on Youtube of him kissing underage girls without asking, easily located by searching "Vic Mignogna Kissed Me". Even if he asked, would still be creepy given their age, but I think it's important to not the lack of asking.

With regards to antisemitism:

Refusing to apologize for offending Jewish people by comparing a loud con to a Holocaust.

With regards to homophobia:

Refuses to sign non-erotic yaoi involving his characters. I will note refusal to sign fanart or unofficial products is something some voice actors choose to do, and if that was the case that'd be fine... but he does and has signed non-homoromantic/homosexual fanart before, including romantic stuff. So something's up here.

Says that he got confirmation from the author of one of his works that his character is not gay. Given the creators'- CLAMP- background and body of work heavily involving LGBT themes, this is 99.999% a lie.

In the same breath as above- as seen here- he has implied he believes homosexual relationships are purely lustful, and cannot or do not involve love.

Dodged the question of if he thinks gay marriages should be legal by saying it should be up to voters.

With regards to general behavior/how he is seen by coworkers:

Numerous reports of fellow VAs dissing Vic Mignogna at VAADs for his acting like a diva, a jerk or homophobic. These panels are meant to be "what happens here, stays here", but given what's been shared outside of them, I believe it's important to share what has been said in them. Sadly, as they have that policy, there aren't many, if any, recordings, so for those without photographic memories it's impossible to confirm the veracity of such. I personally have attended some with such disses, and in particular there was one at Otakon 2014 where one of the younger VAs flat out said he was a creep who invited young girls to his room to "talk about Jesus", along with others hinting at his bad general behavior they can't share due to fear of losing their jobs.

Numerous reports of con staff not enjoying working with him, to the point some said he was rude to them. One such example here. Just... Acting like a diva, generally acting entitled to things staff doesn't even do for other guests.

A couple of twitter threads:

MarzGurl tackling his apology

A thread with responses that are accounts of him being a sex pest, a homophobe, or a jerk:

Finally, there is a minor hashtag that started to #KickVic, so to speak, which I feel is worth keeping an eye on.

Edit: I will note with the homophobia stuff there is a video of him circulating of him standing up to "GOD HATES F-slur" type protesters at a con, but it's clearly staged and the way he's acting makes him seem like he's trying to get brownie points.

Pickman · Jan 21, 2019

Vic was a big fixture in the Florida anime con scene in the early 2000s, and there were definitely some uncomfortable situations in hotel hot tubs back in the day.

schwifty · Jan 21, 2019

Anyone who is homophobic is dead to me. This is no joke in 2019.

Deleted member 14377 · Jan 21, 2019

Those comments are all gross and basically boil down to "I had such a great experience with you in the 2 minutes I had with you! There's no way this person I barely know could ever do something like this!".

Darkpyro2 · Jan 21, 2019

I've attended a panel for him at SacAnime. He did seem a bit uncomfortably familiar with some of his female fans, but it didn't LOOK like they minded at the time, so I kind of just let that go.

BY2K · Jan 21, 2019

"I can't be homophobe, I have LGBTQ friends!"

That's... not a good start...

hank_tree · Jan 21, 2019

Are there any articles etc. someone can point me to covering the allegations?

Clairesker · Jan 21, 2019

Pickman said:
Vic was a big fixture in the Florida anime con scene in the early 2000s, and there were definitely some uncomfortable situations in hotel hot tubs back in the day.

Woah....thats scary.

Deleted member 5865 · Jan 21, 2019

Been rumors about him for a long time, im suprised he chose to respond

Deleted member 32561 · Jan 21, 2019

I was considering making a topic about this but wasn't sure how it'd be received. I'll compile a few things and edit them into this post so OP can add them to the OP. Or I can PM them, whichever you prefer, Sibersk Esto

But I will say, I have a story to share. He was very creepy towards my sibling. They identified as a girl at the time and were going through puberty and was very... busty. And completely without asking, without them even knowing who he was or what roles he had (I was getting stuff signed for myself), hugged them tight to his chest, so that their chest was against his. At the time I didn't see anything wrong but it later dawned on me and I asked if they were comfortable with what he did and they said it was a bit weird and after I shared the rumors I'd heard at the time.... yeaaaahhh.... suffice to say they were not okay with it. Nor am I.

Pickman · Jan 21, 2019

Clairesker said:
Woah....thats scary.

Thinking back on it now, I really can't believe how fucking hard we partied for a bunch of anime nerds.

Kthulhu · Jan 21, 2019

God damnit.

SideMatt · Jan 21, 2019

Been hearing this stuff about him for yeeeaaaaaars. Hope his ass finally gets kicked out of the industry.

Sibersk Esto · Jan 21, 2019

hank_tree said:
Are there any articles etc. someone can point me to covering the allegations?

So far it seems to be almost completely anecdotal. Tweets, Facebook group convos and forum posts primarily. Nothing officially compiled from what I'm seeing.

Mewshuji said:
I was considering making a topic about this but wasn't sure how it'd be received. I'll compile a few things and edit them into this post so OP can add them to the OP. Or I can PM them, whichever you prefer, Sibersk Esto

But I will say, I have a story to share. He was very creepy towards my sibling. They identified as a girl at the time and were going through puberty and was very... busty. And completely without asking, without them even knowing who he was or what roles he had (I was getting stuff signed for myself), hugged them tight to his chest, so that their chest was against his. At the time I didn't see anything wrong but it later dawned on me and I asked if they were comfortable with what he did and they said it was a bit weird and after I shared the rumors I'd heard at the time.... yeaaaahhh.... suffice to say they were not okay with it. Nor am I.

Editing your post works fine, thank you. Any further information would be greatly appreciated.

Inugami · Jan 21, 2019

Very disappointing if true... at least we still have Dan Green right? RIGHT!?

(fake edit) In all seriousness, the times I saw him at Metrocon back in... oh... 2009 or so... he seemed to enjoy being showered in female con goer attention a little too much, but I just wrote it off. Fan girls are going to fan girl and it's not like you're going to tell your fans to chill out. If he used his position of power over his fans (most of whom were teenagers at best) he can go and rot in literal hell.

Surakian · Jan 21, 2019

This has been one of those open secrets among the anime community, especially those who frequent conventions, for a long time now. There are hundreds of upsetting stories out there. Waaaay too much smoke for there not to be some truth in what is being said by people.

Tansut · Jan 21, 2019

Bye bitch

Yasuke · Jan 21, 2019

Pickman said:
Thinking back on it now, I really can't believe how fucking hard we partied for a bunch of anime nerds.

Never get this line of thinking.

Nerds be fucking and partying like everyone else. Lol

This is disappointing to hear, but somehow not surprising.

MrSaturn99 · Jan 21, 2019

Rumors have circulated throughout the net on this for some time, but I never knew what to make of it given most confessions were anonymous. I know he's had confrontations with Yaoi fans, however.

I've read he's apparently banned from some cons for difficult behavior and whatnot?

King Alamat · Jan 21, 2019

Can't say I'm surprised at the allegations ever since I learned about his evangelicalism.

El Bombastico · Jan 21, 2019

Vic being a homophobic shit does not surprise me at all considering that he was ultra-religious.

That other shit...wow. And this was an open secret?

Slayven · Jan 21, 2019

"I have gay friends and I gave them jobs"

Quite the defense

Clairesker · Jan 21, 2019

Pickman said:
Thinking back on it now, I really can't believe how fucking hard we partied for a bunch of anime nerds.

It sounds like fun and wished I could've been there.

Deleted member 32561 · Jan 21, 2019

Sibersk Esto said:
Editing your post works fine, thank you. Any further information would be greatly appreciated.

Gotcha, compiling stuff now.

El Bombastico said:
That other shit...wow. And this was an open secret?

Pretty much. I've been hearing this shit about him since '08 or so on /cgl/ and after I abandoned 4chan heard it on forums and social media sites. I'm kind of shocked to see how few DON'T know it by now.

Inugami · Jan 21, 2019

Mewshuji said:
I'm kind of shocked to see how few DON'T know it by now.

Double whammy... Anime fans are already often ostracized outside of their communities and events, and then to have someone trusted (or again, even semi-worshiped) in the community taking advantage of them in some way it's hard to come out in any way against them.

Things are better for the anime fandom than they were in the 90's, but being an anime fan (and a female or transgendered one at that) still puts you in a socially awkward place.

Sonicbug · Jan 21, 2019

Yeah, many of these stories about him are not new. Definitely pre-MeToo movement.

Terrell · Jan 21, 2019

BY2K said:
"I can't be homophobe, I have LGBTQ friends!"

That's... not a good start...

In 2019, adding this into a discussion of your behaviour has the opposite effect and people HAVE TO know this.

Besides, statistically speaking, unless you've gone out of your way to exclude them, EVERYONE has a minimum of 1 gay friend at this point, so beyond the point made above, it's a very "yeah, and?" sort of statement.

El Bombastico · Jan 21, 2019

Mewshuji said:
Gotcha, compiling stuff now.

Pretty much. I've been hearing this shit about him since '08 or so on /cgl/ and after I abandoned 4chan heard it on forums and social media sites. I'm kind of shocked to see how few DON'T know it by now.

I haven't considered myself an anime fan for years and even when I was, I never went to cons nor kept up with any BTS information. Never visited 4chan either which seems to be where most of these stories originated from.

Inugami · Jan 21, 2019

Terrell said:
In 2019, adding this into a discussion of your behaviour has the opposite effect and people HAVE TO know this.

You misinterpret why this is done. This isn't for LGBT people who can see through this shit with ease. It's for closest racists/homophobes so they can latch onto it. "Yeah, I'm the same way. There is no way they (or I) am a xxxxxist because I have friends and co-workers who are these people!"

Tom Nook · Jan 21, 2019

Yeah, I heard about the homophobia and antisemitism.

Pedophilia? Yikes.

HadesHotgun · Jan 21, 2019

I've hated this fuck for years and not just for being a really shitty voice actor.

He said some shit about how courts shouldn't decide gay marriage and then tried to claim he was being attacked for being Christian.

Fuck off straight to hell, Vic.

Found it:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...gwAHoECAUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3P-GKq3FlISOX7lTS1ZGOY

Homophobic piece of shit.

I hate that he gets any work at all let alone that he ruined Escaflowne by getting to voice Folken in the fucking redub. I refuse to buy anything he works on.

Terrell · Jan 21, 2019

KojiKnight said:
You misinterpret why this is done. This isn't for LGBT people who can see through this shit with ease. It's for closest racists/homophobes so they can latch onto it. "Yeah, I'm the same way. There is no way they (or I) am a xxxxxist because I have friends and co-workers who are these people!"

But even people who aren't LGBTQ know this. It's been so widely understood as a smokescreen for awful opinions and behaviours that it became a meme so well-known that it's a common joke written into comedy TV and film on a fairly regular basis. Aside from complete ignorance on multiple fronts, everyone knows what the connotations of that phrase are. Even the people the message is intended to reach know this and actively don't care to acknowledge the problem.

Enzom21 · Jan 21, 2019

BY2K said:
"I can't be homophobe, I have LGBTQ friends!"

That's... not a good start...

"I can't be a rapist because I'm friends with women I haven't raped."

Feep · Jan 21, 2019

Vic Mignogna has repeatedly hit on barely-of-legal-age girls at conventions well into his 40's. I have no direct evidence of homophobia, but I have absolute confirmation from several girls I know that this happened.

MrSaturn99 · Jan 21, 2019

By the way, here's a great deconstruction of the letter:

Stuart444 · Jan 21, 2019

Yeah, I've heard of the sexual harrassment stuff before, my SO has a few friends on one of her social media platforms who have shared stories in the past. Including some young-ish barely legal stories iirc.

Didn't know about the Homophobia stuff though.

Kasey · Jan 21, 2019

HadesHotgun said:
I've hated this fuck for years and not just for being a really shitty voice actor.

He said some shit about how courts shouldn't decide gay marriage them tried to claim he was being attacked for being Christian.

Fuck off straight to hell, Vic.

Found it:

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...gwAHoECAUQAQ&usg=AOvVaw3P-GKq3FlISOX7lTS1ZGOY

Homophobic piece of shit.

Seems par the course with these bigots. Hide behind Christian morality to justify your hatred.

Where was that morality when he was creeping on young girls?

Sun's Resting Place · Jan 21, 2019

I've been hearing stories about him for YEARS. Like, a decade ago at least.

He has actually been banned from multiple conventions. The stories about him picking up tons of underage fangirls are all over the internet.

https://www.google.com/amp/conventionhorrorstories.tumblr.com/post/36910875571/con-memoirs/amp

Example. From 2012

CreeperBlocks · Jan 21, 2019

Would Funimation redub Full Metal Alchemist if they ever rereleased it?

UberTag · Jan 21, 2019

As someone that was entrenched in anime voice actor fan circles in the early 2000s, absolutely none of this surprises me.

DanarchyReigns · Jan 21, 2019

CreeperBlocks said:
Would Funimation redub Full Metal Alchemist if they ever rereleased it?

They no longer have the rights.

Officer Big Mac · Jan 21, 2019

Some of my best friends are...

Never say those words. You're only making yourself sound more suspect.

Puck Beaverton · Jan 21, 2019

Yeah the harassment isn't surprising at all.

HadesHotgun · Jan 21, 2019

CreeperBlocks said:
Would Funimation redub Full Metal Alchemist if they ever rereleased it?

Aniplex distributes it directly now and they use the existing dub. I don't know if we'll ever get a version where Ed doesn't sound like an old man who hates gays and preys on young girls.

It's sickening that this dude is basically famous for getting to voice Edward Elric and is a permanent stain on the Western release of a great work.

Meows · Jan 21, 2019

nnn he is going to come to my local Planet Comicon soon. I imagine that will be messy.

Sun's Resting Place · Jan 21, 2019

I remember being in high school in the late 2000s and even back then I heard bad shit about Vic. He came to a local convention in like 2008 I think and I heard the horror stories even back then. It was my first con and I actually avoided his panel based on all the getting handsy with underage girls/etc and hitting on them stuff I'd heard from other people.

FormatCompatible · Jan 21, 2019

Teh Hamburglar said:
Some of my best friends are...

Never say those words. You're only making yourself sound more suspect.

Also never end your spiel with ''this is the climate we live in (now)''.

Personally didn't know about the accusations and that it has been basically a open secret for a while now, extremely disappointing and disturbing.

CreeperBlocks · Jan 21, 2019

DanarchyReigns said:
They no longer have the rights.

Okay, I guess Aniplex has the rights now right? Would they ever redub FMA..?

Sweeney Swift · Jan 21, 2019

Yeah, stopped reading that letter after the word "sorry" or "apologize" was nowhere in the "addressing homophobia" part of the statement and he pulled the "some of my best friends aren't straight" card. He can fuck all the way off

THE GUY · Jan 21, 2019

Dio Over Heaven said:
I've been hearing stories about him for YEARS. Like, a decade ago at least.

He has actually been banned from multiple conventions. The stories about him picking up tons of underage fangirls are all over the internet.

https://www.google.com/amp/conventionhorrorstories.tumblr.com/post/36910875571/con-memoirs/amp

Example.

This is some twisted stuff. So he's basically a pedophile.

Vic Mignogna Lawsuit |OT| Hold My Beard (Update: Appeal lost, Mignogna must pay attorney fees to defendants)

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