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INTEREST: 'Far From Perfect': Fans Recount Unwanted Affection from Voice Actor Vic Mignogna


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Romuska
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Joined: 02 Mar 2004
Posts: 795
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 1:51 pm Reply with quote
I'm a considerably large gay dude. I don't think Vic would appreciate me putting my hands around his waist and kissing him out of the blue. I'm also betting most parents wouldn't appreciate me doing that to their teenage kids! I can't stand it when people make excuses for that kind of behavior. It's not affection. It's creepy and at the absolute very least, it's rude.
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whiskeyii



Joined: 29 May 2013
Posts: 2242
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 1:53 pm Reply with quote
I'm reminded of a body map of "appropriate places people allow others to touch them", ranked both by context (the closeness of the toucher to the touchee) and gender (male vs female). Simply put, NO ONE likes strangers touching their faces. It's a *highly* intimate location across the board, and even people in touchy-feely families know for damn-sure that you don't treat random strangers like you would your family. Even if this doesn't constitute sexual assault, I'd say it's easily sexual harassment at the very least.

Unfortunately, cons are the kind of perfect storm for this kind of non-consensual behavior. Fans are starstruck and are already not functioning at typical social etiquette levels, Vic is widely acknowledged as charming and personable to fans, and, of course, the fans are young and thus less equipped to know how to deal with these kinds of situations. It's just heartbreaking.
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Mertal



Joined: 17 Mar 2010
Posts: 88
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 1:54 pm Reply with quote
SquadmemberRitsu wrote:
Mertal wrote:
Soooo.. Anime News Network is going down the Gossip Rag route now eh?

I suppose we are going to see more and more attack stories (deserved or undeserved) on more and more people for now on?

Yaaaay...
Are you kidding me?

Did you even look at the photos? Have you ever met Vic? I have, and while I was inadequate in calling it out in the past I can confirm that his fixation towards underage girls and lack of consent are very real.


No I have never met him. And I could care less if I ever meet him. I have never heard of him before this article. Everything could be true in this article that he is a complete arsehole and I could care less. His whole existence is irrelevant to me.

Yet ANN comes outa nowhere and posts this HUGE gossip piece on how a big a Dick he is. Really? Is this something that we will see more of?

This article is a first for ANN as far as I can see, and am basically concerned that we will start seeing more articles that would make the National Inquirer editors proud.
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Aresef



Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 909
Location: MD
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:02 pm Reply with quote
Emerald City Comic Con has canceled him
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Bonham



Joined: 20 Nov 2010
Posts: 419
Location: NYC
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:03 pm Reply with quote
Mertal wrote:
Yet ANN comes outa nowhere and posts this HUGE gossip piece on how a big a Dick he is. Really? Is this something that we will see more of?

Posting photographic evidence from multiple sources whose stories, as noted in the article, are corroborated is "gossip," i.e. "rumors" to you.

Please stop this foolishness, especially when it concerns a larger, real life issue that's been swept under the rug for years.
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Just Passing Through



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 276
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:09 pm Reply with quote
I've read the article twice, and what I see described is a creepy, handsy, unwelcome uncle type, with a couple of politically incorrect opinions that will offend the more liberal. The photos can be seen as evidential, or rather the context the article places the photos in.

There are plenty of allegations that describe unwanted, and disgusting behavior, but all of it in the public arena.

The article describes a disgusting, socially inept, entitled diva dick.

Being a a disgusting, socially inept, entitled diva dick is not a crime. Practically qualifies you to be president, but not a crime.

Unproven allegations are just that. It's the kind of court of public opinion, witch-hunt that we see too often today. People rush to hop on the "I knew he always looked creepy" bandwagon, and lives and careers are ruined before anyone sees a court of law, faces an accuser, and is judged on the evidence against them.

I hope and expect that to happen in this instance. I'd hope that ANN wouldn't publish a piece of this import without such fore-knowledge, or it really would be the sort of gossip piece as one respondent has characterised it as. I'd expect this situation to escalate into criminal proceedings, otherwise ANN has not only burnt some serious bridges with this piece, it has also left itself liable. I'd also expect some sort of industry response to these allegations in the next few days.


Last edited by Just Passing Through on Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:11 pm; edited 1 time in total
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jenthehen



Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 835
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:10 pm Reply with quote
Mertal wrote:
SquadmemberRitsu wrote:
Mertal wrote:
Soooo.. Anime News Network is going down the Gossip Rag route now eh?

I suppose we are going to see more and more attack stories (deserved or undeserved) on more and more people for now on?

Yaaaay...
Are you kidding me?

Did you even look at the photos? Have you ever met Vic? I have, and while I was inadequate in calling it out in the past I can confirm that his fixation towards underage girls and lack of consent are very real.


No I have never met him. And I could care less if I ever meet him. I have never heard of him before this article. Everything could be true in this article that he is a complete arsehole and I could care less. His whole existence is irrelevant to me.

Yet ANN comes outa nowhere and posts this HUGE gossip piece on how a big a Dick he is. Really? Is this something that we will see more of?

This article is a first for ANN as far as I can see, and am basically concerned that we will start seeing more articles that would make the National Inquirer editors proud.


I can't help but agree. I do know who Vic is and I've heard people joke about him before, but I'm not sure this article is the way ANN should be going.
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Scalfin



Joined: 18 May 2008
Posts: 249
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:11 pm Reply with quote
Romuska wrote:
I'm a considerably large gay dude. I don't think Vic would appreciate me putting my hands around his waist and kissing him out of the blue. I'm also betting most parents wouldn't appreciate me doing that to their teenage kids! I can't stand it when people make excuses for that kind of behavior. It's not affection. It's creepy and at the absolute very least, it's rude.


I think part of the issue on that is that there's a well known trend of certain Protestant subcultures being much more into casual physical contact than is normative in other American cultures.
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Aresef



Joined: 22 Jun 2005
Posts: 909
Location: MD
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:13 pm Reply with quote
Just Passing Through wrote:
I've read the article twice, and what I see described is a creepy, handsy, unwelcome uncle type, with a couple of politically incorrect opinions that will offend the more liberal. The photos can be seen as evidential, or rather the context the article places the photos in.

There are plenty of allegations that describe unwanted, and disgusting behavior, but all of it in the public arena.

The article describes a disgusting, socially inept, entitled diva dick.

Being a a disgusting, socially inept, entitled diva dick is not a crime. Practically qualifies you to be president, but not a crime.

Unproven allegations are just that. It's the kind of court of public opinion, witch-hunt that we see too often today. People rush to hop on the "I knew he always looked creepy" bandwagon, and lives and careers are ruined before anyone sees a court of law, faces an accuser, and is judged on the evidence against them.

I hope and expect that to happen in this instance. I'd hope that ANN wouldn't publish a piece of this import without such fore-knowledge, or it really would be the sort of gossip piece as one respondent has characterised it as. I'd expect this situation to escalate into criminal proceedings, otherwise ANN has not only burnt some serious bridges with this piece, it has also left itself liable. I'd also expect some sort of industry response to these allegations in the next few days.


What you think are "awkward uncle" interactions, people remember as something different. What you think are "politically incorrect" remarks, people hear as anti-Semitism and homophobia. ANN makes clear they did their homework before publishing this.
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AiddonValentine



Joined: 07 Aug 2006
Posts: 2201
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:14 pm Reply with quote
Mertal wrote:


No I have never met him. And I could care less if I ever meet him. I have never heard of him before this article. Everything could be true in this article that he is a complete arsehole and I could care less. His whole existence is irrelevant to me.

Yet ANN comes outa nowhere and posts this HUGE gossip piece on how a big a Dick he is. Really? Is this something that we will see more of?

This article is a first for ANN as far as I can see, and am basically concerned that we will start seeing more articles that would make the National Inquirer editors proud.


This is not mere gossip, this is about a man with substantial influence in the industry basically abusing his position to take advantage of others. As we've learned in the current era, this is nothing new, it's as old as time itself and people are fed up with it.
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Errinundra
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Joined: 14 Jun 2008
Posts: 6516
Location: Melbourne, Oz
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:14 pm Reply with quote
Just a reminder to keep playing it nice. Just backing up what Mad_Scientist said earlier - this is a topic that is bound to raise emotional levels in people. Feel free to respond or disagree, but just remember that what you write might touch a raw nerve in other people. If something does upset you, take a deep breath and think a couple of times before you respond.
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ranran-001



Joined: 25 Oct 2018
Posts: 532
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:19 pm Reply with quote
Scalfin wrote:
Romuska wrote:
I'm a considerably large gay dude. I don't think Vic would appreciate me putting my hands around his waist and kissing him out of the blue. I'm also betting most parents wouldn't appreciate me doing that to their teenage kids! I can't stand it when people make excuses for that kind of behavior. It's not affection. It's creepy and at the absolute very least, it's rude.


I think part of the issue on that is that there's a well known trend of certain Protestant subcultures being much more into casual physical contact than is normative in other American cultures.


Which ones? Cause this sounds odd to me, being someone who went to a non-Catholic church for a time.
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katscradle



Joined: 05 Jan 2013
Posts: 469
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:19 pm Reply with quote
I’ve heard so many stories about his behaviour for years and years that it bothers me when I come across dubs he’s in. So, I hope it helps people that have and keep speaking out and anyone else who doesn’t want to or isn’t there yet.

On the whole homophobia, if there isn’t the intent to be harmful maybe his fan club should change the wording in their guidelines. Anytime people discuss BL and yuri regarding the LGBTQ+ community or religion it can get complicated and ugly. Him personally not liking or approving a piece of fiction, cannot be automatically taken as discriminatory behavior towards others and it concerns me when people lash out based on that assumption.

However, that fan club statement appears to misrepresent all BL and yuri as inherently more mature or adult, which is not true and can be harmful since there is the issue of media with LGBTQ+ characters or themes being judged more harshly or facing greater restriction than other material. Simply saying "Vic is Christian" as explantion also raises questions of exactly what his views are about how one should conduct oneself to be a faithful Christian. Instead of saying something along the lines of we’re not saying you have to agree or cannot like this it goes with “must clean up your life”. Seeing as many LGBTQ+ people find many things in the genres of BL and yuri too it reads to me as telling LGBTQ+ people we’re dirty or awful sinners or something.

And his statement with the I have friends that are LGBTQ and got them work… pulling that card was gauche decades ago.

I don’t know his heart or that of anybody in his fan club but, these statements do not help.
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Just Passing Through



Joined: 04 Apr 2011
Posts: 276
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:25 pm Reply with quote
Aresef wrote:


What you think are "awkward uncle" interactions, people remember as something different. What you think are "politically incorrect" remarks, people hear as anti-Semitism and homophobia. ANN makes clear they did their homework before publishing this.


I'm trying to draw a distinction between wrong, and criminally wrong. If this article is merely a vehicle to support the former opinion about a person, then I think it's misjudged. Certainly it's within the right of every anime fan, anime fandom as a whole to develop and hold a negative opinion about an individual. "Go away because we think you're behaviour is creepy and wrong. Go away because you offend our sensibilities. Go away because you look like a perv when you drape youself over young girls"

But is it news? That's why I said that I expect the situation to actually escalate into the criminal sphere. I can't believe that ANN would be that naive.
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jenthehen



Joined: 23 Dec 2008
Posts: 835
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
PostPosted: Wed Jan 30, 2019 2:28 pm Reply with quote
I feel I need to add -

I was a "late bloomer" to anime and attended my first convention in late 2007 / early 2008 when I was around 21 / 22 years old. Vic was already in the rumor mill and people (i.e. other voice actors and panelists) were making jokes about him. Of course, this was before the "me too" awareness that exists now, so it all seemed funny / fun and games, and I truly feel that's all it is.

At that point, "glomping" (running and tackle-hugging at random) and "Free Hugs" signs were still a pretty rampant part of con / otaku culture. He was probably trying to fit in - in a "hey fellow kids" kind of way. There doesn't seem to be ANY evidence that he actually propositioned or pressured or had sexual contact with anyone at conventions (especially not anyone underage).

Considering he's been the butt of these jokes for at least 10 years, this article seems late and more like bullying than exposing someone "abusing power." Yeah, he's "famous" in anime circles, but he hardly has much influence - he's certainly not a Harvey Weinstein. Yes, sneaking a kiss on the cheek or hugging without permission is assault (or battery, depending on your legal jurisdiction) - but it's also very minor in the scale of unwanted contact.

People can get carried away when they are having fun, and it seems he assumed that all his behavior / contact was wanted. I haven't heard any allegations that someone asked him to stop touching / talking / doing something and he refused / continued - just that he rushed into casual physical contact without receiving explicit consent.

Other celebrities (like John Barrowman for instance) also do this in convention-like settings. That doesn't mean it's RIGHT or that people always feel comfortable, but it's not like Vic is this "big bad guy."

I feel very torn about this article.
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