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Fusion

Vic Mignogna

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Vic Mignogna's been a big anime voice actor for a long time and recently he's been under fire for sexual harassment/assault and other inappropriate exchanges between his fans and other voice actors.

Almost all of his con appearances this year have been canceled, he's fired from RWBY, and Funimation cut their ties with him.

How do people here feel? I was hoping things were false when there were first rumblings about him, but the sheer amount of testimonies from others in the industry and people who've interacted with him at cons have convinced me he's been in the wrong here and there's an established history of his behavior. 

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Yikes. I'd heard some stories of some unprofessional conduct (I'd never interacted with him personally at cons) in the past, but nothing this serious.

Assuming this is all true, it's a damn shame, he's a really good VA. But until we know for sure I'd like to keep believing in him.

These are his responses from twitter, btw:

 

Edited by Shradow

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For context, a Twitter user by the name of Hazukari had a lot of allegations of sexual assault (Such as preying on underage girls, or outright raping someone who was drunk) levied against him, though he had also commented on Vic's behavior in the past. Anime News Network cut ties with him, and since Hazukari was being held accountable for his actions, some of the reactions were that if all this attention could be put on Hazukari, it's only appropriate for people to be consistent by putting as much attention on Vic.

So, this behavior hasn't come out of nowhere. It's very much a part of Me Too, where women feel comfortable sharing their experiences, either because they know that other women have been victims at the hands of the same individual, or because they know the men who preyed on them aren't the only ones guilty. In Vic's case, it's been an open secret that his behavior is inappropriate, though I don't believe that allegations were ever this serious before?

The only other precedent for Funimation publicly cutting ties with a voice actor like this was after Scott Freeman was convicted for possession of child pornography. It's likely that Vic is being held to the same standard, and I'm inclined to believe their judgment in their investigation.

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Vic also added on Twitter that he's "taking time to recommit to God and seeking the help of a counselor."

I take that as an acknowledgment from him that he was in the wrong. Maybe he didn't realize what exactly he'd been doing, but that doesn't excuse his actions.

Just as you said Shradow, it is a damn shame. Hope everyone who's been affected is able to move on from this and that Funimation doesn't encounter any other crazy controversies. The Scott Freeman thing was insane too.

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Part of me is more so on Vic's side merely because of how people are acting in this situation. He seems much calmer and sincere than people like Jamie Marchi or Monical Rial who are honestly being very aggressive and a bit psychotic about this. All without putting forth any actual evidence, apparently. 

I really wish when things like this happened people would actually act like adults and get this sorted out through a court of law, maybe actually file a police report or something, instead of stirring up mass hysteria via social media.

I'm seeing a lot of people standing up for Vic, sharing their own pictures of them (perfectly consensually) hugging him and stuff, and from what I understand certain images in some of the news sites talking about this used pictures of people without their permission or edited pictures to make them look worse than they are.

Edited by Shradow

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9 hours ago, Fusion said:

Vic also added on Twitter that he's "taking time to recommit to God and seeking the help of a counselor."

I take that as an acknowledgment from him that he was in the wrong. Maybe he didn't realize what exactly he'd been doing, but that doesn't excuse his actions.

Just as you said Shradow, it is a damn shame. Hope everyone who's been affected is able to move on from this and that Funimation doesn't encounter any other crazy controversies. The Scott Freeman thing was insane too.

I'm glad he's taking that time. While I do wish for abusers to be held accountable whenever possible, I think it's just as important to believe in second chances. He genuinely seemed broken up about the anger had against him, and while I've been in therapy, I recognize how easy it is for me to blame other people, but not to reflect on my own actions.

Monica Rial posted a statement on Twitter hoping that, if he takes the necessary steps to become a better person, then she might forgive him. I truly hope that Vic gets the best help he can both from seeing a counselor, and from his faith.

8 hours ago, Shradow said:

Part of me is more so on Vic's side merely because of how people are acting in this situation. He seems much calmer and sincere than people like Jamie Marchi or Monical Rial who are honestly being very aggressive and a bit psychotic about this. All without putting forth any actual evidence, apparently. 

I really wish when things like this happened people would actually act like adults and get this sorted out through a court of law, maybe actually file a police report or something, instead of stirring up mass hysteria via social media.

I'm seeing a lot of people standing up for Vic, sharing their own pictures of them (perfectly consensually) hugging him and stuff, and from what I understand certain images in some of the news sites talking about this used pictures of people without their permission or edited pictures to make them look worse than they are.

Based on what Monica was saying, Rooster Teeth and Funimation had conducted their investigations before she ever made her announcement, and evidence and reports were indeed provided to proper authorities.

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https://www.scribd.com/document/421095023/Monica-Rial-and-Ron-Toye-Notice-of-Hearing-on-TCPA

A hearing to dismiss Vic's case will be on September 6. I believe Vic was unable to prove in court that the allegations against him actually constituted defamation, but he did admit that Jamie Marchi's allegations against him were true. I have a hard time believing that Marchi or Rial were ever in the wrong here, let alone "psychotic", when this case about defamation actually ended up proving them right.

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https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1BrUqpWzQ8BGZ4dDR52Hvrx76XJ9xfxHe

Judge Chupp overruled Vic's objections and motions to strike evidence in support of the motion to dismiss after just two hours of consideration.

The hearing the dismiss the whole case will be tomorrow. There's little chance this case will survive.

EDIT:

Oh hey, looks like Ty Beard committed notary fraud.

Edited by Phantom Roxas

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Highlight from this hearing so far: "Judge: if I like a cat picture on Facebook, I’m not in a conspiracy. You are reading too much into liking a post."

A five minute recess was declared at Ty's request, just one hour into the hearing. All claims against Jamie Marchi have just been dismissed.

Oof, this tea is hot.

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12 out of 17 claims against the defendants were dismissed.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-09-06/mignogna-civil-case-against-voice-actress-jamie-marchi-dismissed/.150828

Here's a helpful graph illustrating how this case was decimated. Judge Chupp will rule on the remaining claims against Monica Rial, Ron Toye, and Funimation within the next 30 days. Vic is now responsible for paying for all of Marchi's court fees, as well as to cover the costs for the remaining claims that were already dismissed.

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I find it interesting that the ISWV camp would claim that, if the judge ruled in Vic's favor, then KickVic would complain about the legal system, and still claim that Vic is a sexual predator, no matter what the court said. And yet, now that the judge has dismissed 70% of Vic's claims, ISWV is complaining about the legal system, accusing the judge of either being incompetent or even paid off, and even threatening him on Facebook. It seems that people within ISWV are guilty of behavior similar to, if not even worse than what they claimed KickVic would engage in.

https://www.cbr.com/vic-mignogna-lawsuit-failed-fan-rage/

CBR (surprisingly showing some excellent journalism for the first time in a long while) recapped some of the events over these past few weeks, highlighting the toxic behavior that ISWV has engaged in. ComicsGaters have also tried to capitalize on this situation, mostly because some of them don't necessarily seem to care about whether Vic is innocent or not. They just saw this as an opportunity to "stick it to SJWs", and hopped on a bandwagon. I guess they backed the wrong Trojan Horse here.

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https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2019/09/06/in-animes-metoo-moment-vic-mignogna-a-no-show-at-tarrant-county-hearing-and-his-case-is-mostly-an-unholy-mess/

https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/18/20870541/vic-mignogna-metoo-accusations-defamation-lawsuit-anti-slapp-laws

Judge Chupp has ordered all parties to mediate by Oct. 3, and if that is not successful, then he will rule on the remaining five orders the following day, a few days earlier than the anticipated Oct. 7 ruling. This follows ISWV continued death threats towards him, such as the following examples:

"Hello, I just wanted to let you know that judge Chupp is a braindead moron and I sincerely hope someone accuses him of rape. You are the cause of school shootings ... suicides ... hate and violence. Judge Chupp just let a group of open criminals go free, shame on your kangaroo court. When people start uprising I hope your court is the first thing targeted."

"Disillusioned -- the strong reminder that justice only leaves the barrel of a gun. When the state fails to defend its citizens, it's only natural that the citizens take care of themselves. It would be a justified kill, and the person doing it can even get annulled for the act of killing and found not guilty for murder."

He has called on both sets of attorneys to refrain from inciting supporters. While Rial, Toye, and Funimation do not seem to be inciting anyone, I imagine that Chupp is speaking to both sides so Vic and his legal team would not feel singled out, and could instead be more inclined to adhere to Chupp's requests.

Edited by Phantom Roxas

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The last five claims were just dismissed. Mediation had failed, so Nick Rekieta started lashing out, and his account was suspended in response to him harassing other users.

Edited by Phantom Roxas

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https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-10-30/monica-rial-ron-toye-jamie-marchi-funimation-file-motion-to-dismiss-vic-mignogna-appeal/.152791

Vic's lawyers have attempted to an interlocutory appeal, but the hearing for the fees that Vic must pay to the defendants is set for November 21, so they defendants have filed a motion to dismiss this appeal.

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https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JPKLOp0LgFj80UPK_pihNwRr4lts_5ps/view

Funimation is currently seeking $201,445 for court costs and additional expenses, including sanctions to discourage Vic more frivolous lawsuits like this.

EDIT:

Looks like Vic is going to end up owing around a million dollars to the defendants, at the very least.

It feels good to be right.

Edited by Phantom Roxas

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The way I understand it, the "strategies" before Vic come down to two possibilities:

1. Appeal the ruling. The sole reason for this is that Judge Chupp allegedly refused to hear evidence from Ty Beard. However, this is because Ty attempted to admit evidence that was already on the record anyway. Or, more specifically, use that as a smokescreen to attempt resubmitting documents that he had previously withdrawn, so he was therefore past the deadline.

2. Have Vic declare bankruptcy so as to deny the defendants the chance to recover the fees and costs. This is a remarkably stupid plan, because while I understand why Vicstans think it would be "owning the defendants" to deny the costs, if your plan hinges on Vic declaring bankruptcy, then... well, how exactly is "Vic is bankrupt" a winning strategy?

Putting aside the galaxy brain ascendance of "Vic can win this case if he just declares bankruptcy!", apparently Vic and his mom signed a deed back in September to put Vic's house into a trust. So they were already planning to hide his assets before the judge dismissed the remainder of the case.

Even if at this point you somehow still believe that Vic is innocent of acting inappropriately in an incident that he had already admitted occurred, he still managed to commit another illegal act when 71% of his case was dismissed.

If the only options available to Vic are an appeal without merit or hiding assets in preparation for potentially declaring bankruptcy, I genuinely cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel for him.

Edited by Phantom Roxas

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Today's hearing has come and gone. Vic admits he has no evidence regarding tortious interference. Judge Chupp was apparently frustrated with all parties today, but he hopes to have his ruling finished by tomorrow.

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A bit of a slog to keep track of it, but basically, Vic currently owes at least $238k. Although he had filed an interlocutory appeal, it is still like to be dismissed, which would bring the total to nearly $380k, though it is also possible he may have to pay $525k. He must also pay $15,000 in sanctions, which are designed to discourage similar frivolous lawsuits. It would actually be better if Vic didn't attempt to appeal this further, because he'd basically just be throwing his money into the fire.

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A transcript of November's sanctions hearing was finally released today, though I think this bit in particular highlights something especially delightful. Vic admitted under oath that he has "no direct evidence" of tortuous interference. Just that he believed it to be true. Hmmmmmm......

What was it that some people were saying? That we should wait for what the judge would say, and let the courts decide? Seems like we did, and in the end, Vic completely lost the case, and we have him confirming that he has nothing to back himself up. Vic failed to prove that any defamation occurred, and while he has technically filed an appeal, there is absolutely no chance of the ruling being overturned in Vic's favor.

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Oh, this is glorious.

So, after Funimation terminated Vic, and Viz seemingly let their contract with him lapse, he was supposedly cast in something called Prince Adventures, from Fantasy Soft Entertainment. As it turns out, Vic recently said that he recorded some lines for them several years ago, and never heard back from them. They were just using his name for clout, especially by taking advantage of people disillusioned by Funimation.

Fantasy Soft was probably the main hope Vic's fans could cling to, and it turns out they were frauds. Hard to really feel bad for anyone in this situation, really. Vic did a similar act, where he starred in "Star Trek Continues", and William Shatner personally told him to knock it off. Doesn't feel so good when the shoe is on the other foot, huh?

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