I met Vic Mignogna
by xvarnah · 39 comments 5 years ago
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unicycle · 5 years ago
I feel like you saying "Well, if THAT'S harassment then look at all these people who are also harassers!" is supposed to support your argument, but it's not. If the people you listed also hold and kiss fans non-consensually, making them uncomfortable, then we should call them out for it.
xvarnah · 5 years ago
My point is rather: if you're offended when HE does it, why are you NOT offended when these people also do it? :s why has no one, yourself included, spoken out against them? are conventions even allowed to be held? Now that I've made you aware of it, why aren't you speaking out now? I'm just curious what it is that makes him personally offensive when he does it?
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I also think something to consider is that he probably DOES hug minors more than some other people. But he is an anime voice actor. Most of his fanbase is in the 12-18 range-- which isn't uncommon for voice actors. It could be that he's targeting minors, but it also could be this is just the way the cards falls. Considering I never saw him do anything overtly sexual, and, aside from the kiss on the neck, didn't see mention of anything that sounded overtly sexual in intent, AND that he treated full grown men exactly the same, and behaved the same regardless of whether the parents were watching or not, it seems to me his intent
xvarnah · 5 years ago
Was less likely to have been sexually motivated. I'm afraid I don't live in a reality where I can interpret every dose of affection an adult male offers as being harassment. As far as I can tell he released all the people within a quick length of time. He didn't linger or make an effort to extend the touches further or to other areas of the body
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I feel like, based on the info provided so far, rather than paint him as a paedophile, it might have been better to perhaps approach him and make him aware that this behaviour might be making people uncomfortable. Most of the people I saw that received a hug or such were pretty much ecstatic-- and some even got back in the line to receive another. And they weren't short lines.
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I'm not saying everyone should be thrilled if they receive a hug or a kiss on the cheek from him-- not even a little. Just that I could see him assuming if someone asks for a photo they might be okay with receiving a hug or kiss on the cheek-- especially when everyone
xvarnah · 5 years ago
Before them received similar treatment.
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As I said, I'm afraid I'll need more than what has been offered so far before I'm convinced we should be burning his life to the ground
unicycle · 5 years ago
I'm definitely upset whenever anyone is touched without their consent; it seems like I care more about this instance because it's what I'm hearing about right now. The whole point of this was to draw attention and get him (and hopefully others) to examine their behaviour. Cons are full of sexual harassment, but it's different when it's two attendees vs. a celebrity and a fan. Hugging a fan is probably more of a grey area for most people, but I can't think of any reason why anyone would need to kiss their fans anywhere - that's definitely over the line whether they're minors or not. Paedophilia is a bit of a harsh brush to paint him with, but I think it's clear from the photos and stories that he crossed the line when touching some underage people.
unicycle · 5 years ago
My thing is, most of this can be brushed off as pretty unintentional and not completely awful. Obviously some fans enjoyed the attention. But his statement was entirely unsatisfying and frankly a bit insulting, which is probably why I've written paragraphs about this guy I barely remember from FMA.
xvarnah · 5 years ago
That makes sense. I agree that kissing can push things a bit in these days, though on the cheek and forehead is generally usually meant as more innocent for most people. It may make people uncomfortable sometimes, but generally the intent is not meant as anything negative. That's why I was focusing mostly on the kiss on the neck, because the neck is a very bizarre place and definitely over the line.
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I'm not trying to diminish their discomfort at all, either. And definitely minors should be protected. But I also think this could be going over the line. As a side note, to me harassment tends to imply that it was an on-going behaviour directed at the same person for an extended period of time. Admittedly this can vary depending on the type of harassment, but for a hug I would expect it to either be repeated on the same individual against their consent
xvarnah · 5 years ago
And potentially after they'd expressed discomfort-- people hug me all the time and it often makes me uncomfortable, but as I've never actually expressed to them that I dislike this behaviour, it's not exactly fair to claim they're harassing me unless they linger or refuse to release me or persist in the behaviour.
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Obviously more extreme behaviours the escalation progresses quicker. If someone grabs your genitals, for example, that's pretty much harassment right from the start seeing as there's never a reasonable way to do that without a sexual intent unless you're a doctor
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Idk if I'm explaining this correctly, and I'm sure people will disagree, that's just been my perception
xvarnah · 5 years ago
Admittedly some of his responses could probably have been worded better. Then again, facing such charges I'm not sure how I would respond.
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It's such an ugly issue all around and guilty or innocent, accuser or accused, it seems there's no way to ever come out of it unscathed
the_grinch · 5 years ago
I dont believe anything without evidence. Hes never been officially tried and hes not a registered sex offender so therefore I'm still a huge fan
xvarnah · 5 years ago
Idk if anyone's still reading this chat, but jus as an update:
So far among the claims against Vic:
-At least ONE that I can confirm (supposedly there are several others as well) have been proven to have been a photo directly stolen from his fan, who DID consent to the photo and did NOT consent to it's use. She made it VERY clear that she had never given anyone the right to take the photo, twist it's story, and use it against Vic. Among the websites listed as using the photo with the falsified story and without the girl's consent were ANN-- who are also the authors of the article listed in this post. So far they haven't given any statement on how the irony of this decision is impacting them.
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-There have been at least two confirmed cases that I've heard of of someone photoshopping and/or encouraging photoshopping to make it appear as if Vic is groping or kissing someone inappropriately.
xvarnah · 5 years ago
-At least two women claiming Vic did... something to them.
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The first one claims he is guilty of innuendo and pulling her hair in public in the middle of a convention. This actress also accused Todd Haberkorn of raping her. Todd provided evidence that they had actually had a casual sex relationship, and pursued him repeatedly after the alleged incident, even trying to get him to commit to a more substantial relationship, which he turned down. She accused Vic immediately after the Todd incident. Thus far I've been able to find no evidence Vic ever restrained or pulled the hair of this woman once (let alone twice) in the middle of a crowded convention, in front of two fans who were part of the conversation, particularly to the degree that several con-goers supposedly stopped and watched and one of the woman's friends ran over and asked if she was okay.
xvarnah · 5 years ago
-The other is a voice actress and I have absolutely no idea what she's accusing Vic of. None. I can't find her actual accounting (if anyone does know that would be helpful), just that she says "IT happened to her." And, according to her, Vic also traumatized and hurt several people she cares about. There are rumours she has taken over Vic's work at Rooster Teeth-- I can't confirm that. There's also evidence of her sending him a kissy emote and saying "what a fun time" she'd had working with a group including him on a picture he posted on social media. This was a month before the Vic thing started spiralling down. Additionally, in a reply to someone defending Vic and misspelling "innocent until proven guilty," she responded with "it's innocent until proven guilty. And that's only in a court of law."
xvarnah · 5 years ago
-There is also a girl named MarzGurl who has for some reason been spearheading a campaign against Vic. I found at least one person claiming that several of the allegations against Vic were being made from the same IP address, and that they knew there was a person deliberately slandering his campaign. several months later this person retracted this statement seemingly on the basis that more people are making claims against Vic.
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There were other things, this is just the stuff there's concrete evidence (or lackthereof) that I've found so far.
xvarnah · 5 years ago
Keep in mind my goal is never to attack or discourage anyone who has been sexually assaulted. I'm just trying to find as much information as I can, and have been adjusting my opinion as I go.
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At this point, innocent or guilty, we've now entered a lose-lose situation. We either have a guy who, according to one side has masqueraded insanely well for years victimizing the vulnerable. Or else we have a terrifying version of mob-mentality where the bandwagon is now to use the hair-trigger of sexual assault and twist it to their own ends, damaging victim credibility and tarnishing the entire movement for years to come.
xvarnah · 5 years ago
As an added note, several full grown adults have started claiming they saw Vic victimizing children "for years." But for some reason, despite the myriad of personalities and circumstances in the community, I can't find any evidence any of them ever made any contact with an authority to try and mitigate the behaviour. Which seems odd because they claim the situations were wildly inappropriate, traumatizing, and repeated. I could sort of understand if maybe MAYBE one adult said "idk what to do." But so many of them (many who reportedly had issues with Vic in the past, or no connection to him at all) saying they willingly stood by and allowed abuse that disgusted them to occur... I'm not sure where even to go with that
xvarnah · 5 years ago
@the_grinch I don't know if you've followed the atrocity that has been this campaign against Vic (and to anyone else reading: I say that after reviewing countless pieces from both sides), but just so you know he has hired lawyers, and one of them has made contact with one of the most vocal of the people attacking his character.
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I'm not sure where Vic will be at the end of it, or how long it will take, but if the lawyers do a good job and work with the evidence they've got (of which there is genuine PAGES long now), then maybe somewhere down the road the conventions will start re-instating him. Sadly I doubt it will be in the next year
the_grinch · 5 years ago
I havent been following because a lot of it is just rumors or slander articles.
I hope the best for him
xvarnah · 5 years ago
Well he did a livestream and he does say he is planning on going to some cons that haven't cancelled him yet, and suggest if you want him at one near you write and let them know you'd like to see him. So it's a possibility. Then again maybe the whole thing has burnt you out (understandable), but I just thought I'd mention since you seemed really bummed you wouldn't get to meet him
the_grinch · 5 years ago
Nah hes blocked from where I'm going but I'll try to let him know ges wanted