×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
NEWS: Funimation Will Not Engage Vic Mignogna on Future Productions


Goto page Previous  

Note: this is the discussion thread for this article

Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
macattack



Joined: 07 May 2011
Posts: 256
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 1:09 pm Reply with quote
Seif wrote:
He didn't insult them, he been alleged to have had sexually harassed them. His fandom is attacking them and calling them liars and conspirators. Click any Funimation tweet about anything and it's filled with garbage attacking Rial. By not specifically addressing those allegations and claiming "I had no idea that my coworkers hated me" he's allowing those conspiracy theories to stand. That "be nice to everyone guys" schtick doesn't cut it.

If he was truly repented he would directly address those two incidents and put an end to the idea that they're somehow plotting against him. Anything less is hurting them.


As I mentioned before, he's taken on legal representation and he's all but certainly been told to not address those incidents directly, whether guilty or innocent.

We're not going to get answers on this for months, if not over a year.

As for people attacking Rial and Marchi, that is wrong on many levels and there's no justifying that. I don't think their harassers are entirely people in Vic's corner tho, but people who just want to cause trouble and misery. Like it or not the Vic thing has become part of a larger culture war, and it does not surprise me that FUNi wanted out of it (at Sony's behest or otherwise).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Terrible90sDub



Joined: 14 Jul 2017
Posts: 168
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 1:10 pm Reply with quote
whiskeyii wrote:
Aresef wrote:

It’s a start, but words have no credibility unless followed by actions. Praying on it, saying he’s seeing a counselor, that doesn’t equate to a promise he will be a changed man. And I’m still unconvinced he understands the full gravity of his actions.


I feel the same way. I get that making grand apologies is in vogue, but all I would really want out of an apology would be a short "I fucked up, I'm sorry, I'll try to do better in the future", and then commit to that last part with actions, rather than words.

It's not the worst apology to come out of MeToo, but the sneaky bits about the "impossibility" of boundaries or "I was totally ignorant of it all" just smacks me more as trying to explain away/excuse his behavior, rather than acknowledging "Yeah, my bad". Though I guess he could've been legally advised to not write anything even remotely resembling self-incrimination; I have zero idea of how that shakes out.


Yes, this. The part about boundaries is what makes it look hollow to me. Even if you believe that those who claim to have told him (or authorities) to stop are lying, there are videos of him openly making people uncomfortable and then getting upset when he's called out on it.

I.e. there's one floating around where he jokingly tries to hit on a 5 year old girl. The crowd boos him and someone even yells "that's wrong!" (Some also laugh, but it feels like a very "hahaha wtf did I just hear" way-- I didn't find it funny, but had a sort of nervous laughter to it myself) Yet, later in the same clip, he decides to double down on hitting on underage girls and asks someone dressed as Beast Boy if she "wants to be an Orion Slave Girl." The crowd also reacts negatively to this.

I'm not really sure how you can see reactions like that and go "I'm trying to make my fans happy, I didn't know I was making people uncomfortable!"

All of that said, if he is seriously going to try to change and get help, that is a good first step. I am of the opinion that people can change, and you even have examples of people convinced of serious crimes who later try to prevent others from following the same path they did. However, the odds of that tend to be lower the older someone is, especially if they have a particularly narcissistic personality. We'll see what happens, I guess.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
RyumuruJireyes



Joined: 10 Feb 2019
Posts: 23
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 1:42 pm Reply with quote
This will be the final things I say on this; this man's life is now ruined and there is no salvaging his career. Before this all happened it just seems like this should of been handled by courts; not decided by the public. If he's guilty so be it and this is the outcome that should happen but if what if he's not? What if the alligations prove to be false down the line?

Last edited by RyumuruJireyes on Thu Feb 14, 2019 1:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Steve Minecraft



Joined: 13 Feb 2019
Posts: 120
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 1:45 pm Reply with quote
Seif wrote:
He didn't insult them, he been alleged to have had sexually harassed them. His fandom is attacking them and calling them liars and conspirators. Click any Funimation tweet about anything and it's filled with garbage attacking Rial. By not specifically addressing those allegations and claiming "I had no idea that my coworkers hated me" he's allowing those conspiracy theories to stand. That "be nice to everyone guys" schtick doesn't cut it.

If he was truly repented he would directly address those two incidents and put an end to the idea that they're somehow plotting against him. Anything less is hurting them.


You're kind of asking him to incriminate himself, which nobody with half a brain is going to do. Regardless, I don't see how other people's actions are his responsibility. That's guilt by association fallacy. If we're going to do that, we'd gotta to hold those two women responsible for all the harassment and attacks their fans have been doing as well.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Aphasial
Exempt from Grammar Rules


Joined: 08 Aug 2010
Posts: 122
Location: San Diego, CA
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 4:57 pm Reply with quote
Greed1914 wrote:
Seif wrote:
"I'm sorry if I offended"
"It's impossible for me to discern other people's boundaries"
"I had no idea people didn't like me"

That's such horse shit. He's playing to his fans' sympathies instead of trying to fix anything. Hiding behind the skirts of his Rangers is such a weak-ass move.



The part I highlighted was what really jumped out at me. It's not impossible to discern if you bother to ask first or if they ask you. A fan asks, "May I have a hug?" or the guest asks, "Would you like a hug?" and stick to just what was asked. It's not impossible. If anything, it's ridiculously easy. In his convention video he admitted that he got lazy and assumed that since many were ok with it, they all were. Saying he couldn't have known and saying that he made assumptions seems contradictory to me.


This is a completely fair criticism, especially as the adults in the room are supposed to be... well, the adults in the room. I'd point out, however, that if there's any consistency among anime conventions over the past 10-15 years it's having a lot of people who are completely bad at reading people and functioning as normal, socially adjusted members of society.

I mean, how many "Don't just go glomp people!" warnings has the community had to put up? We've settled on "cosplay is not consent" signs at cons, but only a community and populace that had problems figuring that out in the first place would even require that.

I'm not saying his (alleged) behavior is excused as "the minor-celebrity version of presumed consent to glomp", but I *am* saying that his statement is consistent with that of someone who got sucked into that mindset and is now in a long-overdue reality check.

Adults in the room should be the adults in the room, and not allow themselves to be sucked into the excitability that the young fans at conventions sometimes mutually pull themselves into. This is especially the case given a) his position as being extraordinarily popular as a VA, and b) the fact that there were so many younger (read: underaged) women in his fanbase.

If cons are to be a special community and a special culture, we should expect the "rockstars" to be held accountable for failing to keep the would-be groupies at arm's length, let alone for mistaking excitability for consent, and manipulation or intentional actions should be grounds for expulsion from the community (all legal questions aside).

Only time will tell if that's what will have gone on here.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message AIM Address Yahoo Messenger ICQ Number
louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1857
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 5:00 pm Reply with quote
Frankly, whether he's right or wrong, there are a few things that make this whole thing with Funimation cutting ties with him a bit of a moot point.

#1. These voice actors are contractors, not employees of Funimation (for the most part). Vic is called in to perform a role, finishes that role, then moves on to another if he's brought back. His job was always uncertain on paper, and Funimation was never obligated to bring him back. If he did something as simple as not flushing the toilet at the company bathroom or saying that the CEO is fat, they had every right to cut ties. Hell, if he just wore his underwear backwards, Funimation had every right to simply stop hiring him because they didn't like him. There's nothing unjust about him not reprising a role in season 2 of an anime or the next Dragonball project. Disappointing for some? Sure. But even if Funimation didn't perform whatever investigation they did, they're still well within their rights to stop hiring him on for voice work.

#2. In all honesty, Vic Mignogna isn't, nor has he been, a big name in anime for the past few years. His days of voicing protagonists in big anime have been done for a while. The people who he's pissed off and supposedly wronged, Jamie and Monica, are far more valuable in anime dubbing nowadays. They're used often and are some of the protagonists and big players in a lot of important ongoing shows. Not to mention they're far less of a liability to Funimation since their behavior at anime conventions is a lot better, speaking from my personal experiences with them.

Whether you believe Vic is a predator or not (and I personally believe it at least partially), I'm sure we can all agree that Funimation isn't legally wrong to cut him off either way.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
Lynx Raven Raide



Joined: 01 Nov 2017
Posts: 412
Location: Central Coast, AU
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 7:26 pm Reply with quote
macattack wrote:
Seif wrote:
He didn't insult them, he been alleged to have had sexually harassed them. His fandom is attacking them and calling them liars and conspirators. Click any Funimation tweet about anything and it's filled with garbage attacking Rial. By not specifically addressing those allegations and claiming "I had no idea that my coworkers hated me" he's allowing those conspiracy theories to stand. That "be nice to everyone guys" schtick doesn't cut it.

If he was truly repented he would directly address those two incidents and put an end to the idea that they're somehow plotting against him. Anything less is hurting them.


As I mentioned before, he's taken on legal representation and he's all but certainly been told to not address those incidents directly, whether guilty or innocent.

We're not going to get answers on this for months, if not over a year.

As for people attacking Rial and Marchi, that is wrong on many levels and there's no justifying that. I don't think their harassers are entirely people in Vic's corner tho, but people who just want to cause trouble and misery. Like it or not the Vic thing has become part of a larger culture war, and it does not surprise me that FUNi wanted out of it (at Sony's behest or otherwise).
I was going to make some comment about the last part and him needing to make a comment to put out those fires, but reading the twitter post after this thread, it seams he did.

"Finally, please be kind to one another. The very last thing I want is for ANYONE to be hatefully targeted - especially not on my behalf."

Whether or not they will listen is another matter, I guess, especially if as you pointed out they are just trolls causing misery, or even worse if they are a part of the counter-movement group stirring shit up because of things like #metoo and Consent...

Edit: thought I would reply here rather than another post
Psycho 101 wrote:
Next up, the anger of his fans towards those who don't accept this apology where he doesn't really apologize for anything specific. The real test from Funimation will be in 2-3 years. Let's see if they stick to their guns on this or as some time goes he works his way back into roles for them.

I think they will, just inadvertently. As others have pointed out, Vic isn't as big a deal these days, coupled by the void he has left someone new could step up and Funi could overlook bringing Vic back in favour of keeping the newer person

(sidenote and off topic, I secretly hope RT bring in Steve Blum to do Qrow Wink )
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 10:46 pm Reply with quote
Lynx Raven Raide wrote:
(sidenote and off topic, I secretly hope RT bring in Steve Blum to do Qrow :wink: )

(Sorry, had to reply to this, because that is exactly who I'm hoping for, too. The way he voices Zeb from Star Wars Rebels would be perfect)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Ali07



Joined: 01 Jun 2014
Posts: 3333
Location: Victoria, Australia
PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 7:10 am Reply with quote
Seems like Vic has reached the point where he'll "disappear" for awhile, judging from that apology. Hopefully he does as he says, even though there is the possibility we won't "see it in action".

Personally, feels like we've reached a point where there's not much to be said, until the time (if she ever does) Monica Rial decides to share her story. Because, I don't believe the "where's the evidence" crowd will get their questions answered (not that there is a need to provide them with anything).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
GracieLizzy



Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 551
Location: Sunderland, England, UK
PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 8:17 am Reply with quote
To be honest I have been reading these threads, after this Funimation announcement at least, thinking "If Funimation was to release details of the investigation to the public like some people are asking wouldn't that breach data protection laws anyway?". I am not sure about US data security legislation but in the UK I am fairly sure it would be a massive GDPR breach.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Dessa



Joined: 14 Jul 2004
Posts: 4438
PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 11:29 am Reply with quote
It wouldn't have anything to do with data protection. Data protection has to do with encryption for personal data, such as names, emails, payment info, etc, that's kept digitally. If FUNi were to be hacked and their user data compromised, they may have a problem with data protection laws.

Releasing information about the investigation (without the express permission of everyone involved) would be a privacy law issue.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime
Advent_Nebula



Joined: 04 Jul 2004
Posts: 932
Location: Colorado
PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:09 pm Reply with quote
GracieLizzy wrote:
To be honest I have been reading these threads, after this Funimation announcement at least, thinking "If Funimation was to release details of the investigation to the public like some people are asking wouldn't that breach data protection laws anyway?". I am not sure about US data security legislation but in the UK I am fairly sure it would be a massive GDPR breach.


Corporations in America have the same legal authority as a person, if the information from the investigation came out without a court order, it is a breach of privacy laws.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime
louis6578



Joined: 31 Jul 2013
Posts: 1857
PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:22 pm Reply with quote
I'm hearing a lot of people say that Vic is just gonna disappear for a few years and come back to the industry as a changed man. No offense, but this has NEVER happened before. I mean, even if he changes for the better, I've never seen a voice actor bounce back from this. Only a small handful of Hollywood actors, and even then, most of those weren't crimes with a victim (RDJ's rut was something he managed to break out of). The few times that this has happened to someone in the anime industry, it was a permanent fix. Goodbye forever.

Vic might get invited to a convention or two a few years down the line if he's lucky, but I'm almost certain that he'll never voice act in a professional work again. Maybe something like Rooster Teeth will pick him up, but not Funimation, Bang Zoom, or anything else.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message My Anime My Manga
GracieLizzy



Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 551
Location: Sunderland, England, UK
PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:23 pm Reply with quote
Advent_Nebula wrote:
GracieLizzy wrote:
To be honest I have been reading these threads, after this Funimation announcement at least, thinking "If Funimation was to release details of the investigation to the public like some people are asking wouldn't that breach data protection laws anyway?". I am not sure about US data security legislation but in the UK I am fairly sure it would be a massive GDPR breach.


Corporations in America have the same legal authority as a person, if the information from the investigation came out without a court order, it is a breach of privacy laws.


Thought as much, thanks for the clarification!
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
ninjamitsuki



Joined: 15 Sep 2007
Posts: 589
Location: Anywhere (Thanks, technology)
PostPosted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 8:54 pm Reply with quote
These people will never even go to cons, yet alone be like that, they only do this because they're safe behind their monitors and are too cowardly to face the consequences of their actions in the real world. The cons I go to are the absolute opposite of the whole "smug anime girl twitter user" stereotype and those types of actions will get you publicly boo'd if not kicked out.

If these guys actually had balls, I would have been harassed and witnessed harassment mercilessly when I went to cons this past few years instead of having the time of my life surrounded by some of the kindest, most accepting, most diverse group of people I've ever met. If they even try, they won't be welcome and their escapades would be fruitless, that's for sure.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> Site-related -> Talkback All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  
Page 15 of 15

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group