Vic Mignogna Controversies

[PicardMan]

Vic Mignogna has always been a mystery. Polygon has just now written an article about the controversies concerning the guy considering the fact that nasty rumors have been circulating forever. Dragon Ball Super: Broly voice actor responds to sexual harassment, homophobia claims. Well, I do know that he's been banned from lots of conventions throughout the US. Zenkaikon, Anime Matsuri, Tokyo in Tulsa, and Ohayocon are a few that are rumored to have banned him or actually have. Anybody have any experience with the guy to know how he's really like compared to the legends about him? He's such a fascinating and mysterious figure.

 

[Light Lucario]

My friend and I went to a local convention once where we did get to meet him. I'm not sure if that's really enough experience to know what he's really like. We just went to his panel and got some stuff signed afterwards. He seemed perfectly nice during the panel. He even brought up people who were either celebrating their birthdays that day or that weekend for everyone to sing happy birthday to them. I was nervous when asking him to sign an Ouran High School Host Club item, but I thanked him for always being so nice to people and he thanked me back. I saw plenty of videos of his conventions before, so he always seemed like a kind person to me based on that.

Now just because I didn't have a negative experience with him obviously doesn't negate the sexual harassment allegations. I didn't have the nerve to ask for a handshake, let alone a hug, and I'm pretty sure my friend was the same. I don't think that I've heard of those claims before, but the fact that they go back as early as 2010 is pretty alarming. I'd like to give him the benefit of the doubt here since he always seemed so nice to people that I couldn't imagine that he'd actively sexually harass his fans, but sadly a lot of people can hide their true intentions by putting on an act. I just hope he isn't one of those kind of people for multiple reasons. I wouldn't blame anyone for feeling uncomfortable about sharing what happened to them since he is a popular voice actor with a lot of hardcore fans. While I can kind of understand why he wouldn't want to give hugs at all anymore, he could easily just ask if people would be comfortable with that or only give hugs to people who ask for one.

I've heard of the homophobia allegations before and I never quite bought it. Just because he doesn't want to sign yaoi fanart doesn't necessarily mean that he's homophobic. Yaoi is not the most progressive way of depicting gay couples, at least based on my experiences. It's often just putting two pretty boys together because they look nice and there are shows that just put out yaoi bait to lure in the kind of fans who would be into that. You can still be in favor of the LGBTQ community and not like yaoi fanart pretty easily. Plus, I think I've heard of one time where he got an Ed and Al pairing fanart, so that would add incest into the issue. If he was more okay with fanart featuring heterosexual pairings, maybe that argument would have a bit more weight to it. As it is, it always felt like a bit of a stretch when the yaoi fanart was their only source for that allegation.

 

[Gold Guy]

I'm mixed on it. He always seemed like such a nice guy, and he has such a large anime resume that I feel like a lot of shows would be ruined for people.

But if the Hollywood MeToo movement has proved anything, it's that being high-profile and likable doesn't mean you aren't a creep.

I hope the allegations aren't true, but I'm cynical enough where I won't be shocked if they are.

 

[PicardMan]

I once saw him at Izumicon (RIP former favorite local con) and he got a very warm reception. The ladies were screaming for him like he was a member of the Beates. He was charming in his panel, but he did seem to have an ego. He's also deeply religious and he did proselytize and advertised his audio CD of the Gospel of John. There is the stereotype that Christians hate gays, and I hope that the allegations aren't done by anti-Christian people ruining his rep because of his religion.

Unfortunately, the stuff on the blog Vic Mignonga horror stories seems to suggest that there is the possibility he did some things, based on testimonies of him molesting and doing sexy stuff with teenage girls. Dear Vic Meggnogna (and other VA's) This many stories is suspicious. I wonder why the media is going after him now as these stories have been going on a while. If something is going on, this would have a significant effect on the anime world as JoJo and the Broly movie have given him a big comeback (I think he's already recorded Rohan's lines, so the JoJo dub might or might not be affected.) Anyway, it's rare to see these kinds of allegations against an A list voice actor.

 

[Light Lucario]

I once saw him at Izumicon (RIP former favorite local con) and he got a very warm reception. The ladies were screaming for him like he was a member of the Beates. He was charming in his panel, but he did seem to have an ego. He's also deeply religious and he did proselytize and advertised his audio CD of the Gospel of John. There is the stereotype that Christians hate gays, and I hope that the allegations aren't done by anti-Christian people ruining his rep because of his religion.

I think I remember him mentioning something about that audio CD at the convention I went to, although I could be mixing it up with a video recording of another panel I watched online. His religion does seem really important to him, but I didn't get the impression he was really focusing more on that than on his voice acting roles. Granted, I was raised with a Catholic upbringing, so I could have been just used to the Christian beliefs he was talking about. I could see why people might find it more uncomfortable for various reasons.

Unfortunately, the stuff on the blog Vic Mignonga horror stories seems to suggest that there is the possibility he did some things, based on testimonies of him molesting and doing sexy stuff with teenage girls. Dear Vic Meggnogna (and other VA's) This many stories is suspicious. I wonder why the media is going after him now as these stories have been going on a while.

I went through the #KickVic hastag on Twitter just so I could be better informed on the situation. It was a lot more intense and creepy than I was expecting. While I've heard about some rumors on Vic Mignonga for years, I didn't know just how bad those accusations really were. Kissing on the cheek/forehead underage girls without their consent was creepy enough, but there are stories where he invited them to his hotel room. It really doesn't make his apology look any better either. I thought it was more sincere before reading through the different stories about him, but it does come off more like he's dancing around his actions as opposed to accepting his mistakes and trying to improve upon them.

As for why the media is going after him now, sexual harassment accusations fortunately attract more attention now due to the #MeToo movement. People will still say that they're just lying, but if there are a significant amount of accusation against a person in the media, they might be able to get more attention than they did in the past. A voice actor allegedly sexually harassing underage fans for at least a decade would get attention.

If something is going on, this would have a significant effect on the anime world as JoJo and the Broly movie have given him a big comeback (I think he's already recorded Rohan's lines, so the JoJo dub might or might not be affected.) Anyway, it's rare to see these kinds of allegations against an A list voice actor.

I'm not sure if he's an A list voice actor. Outside of the anime community, I don't think it's that well known. I haven't heard about Vic being in a noticeable anime for quite some time too, although I could have just as easily missed any dub cast announcement that features him.

 

[AdrenalineRush1996]

Should Broly return in a future Dragon Ball project, it is very likely that he'll be recast with a new voice actor.

 

[Light Lucario]

Should Broly return in a future Dragon Ball project, it is very likely that he'll be recast with a new voice actor.

I'm not so sure. Apparently these accusations have been going around since at least 2010, if not the late 2000's, but he still gets work, gets nvited to at least some conventions and get a lot of attention from his fans.

I'd be kind of glad if Funimation does decide to recast him in future projects though. I've read through more stories from people who had negative experiences with him. Like I said before, I've heard about these rumors for years, but I never heard more specific details beyond the yaoi stuff and even that gets expanded upon in some of the stories I've read. It's pretty bad and really changes my perception of him. He always seemed nice in the videos I've watched and he was nice when I met him, but it is sadly easy to have a nice public image only to be a terrible person in your private life. It sounds pretty likely that that is the case here, which is pretty sad for multiple reasons.

I don't want to taint the memory of meeting since that was a fun convention to experience with my friend and I have enjoyed some of his voice acting work like in FMA and Ouran High School Host Club, but obviously the safety of other people and offering comfort/reassurance to those affected by his behavior/actions are much more important than stuff like that. I'm not sure if I'd want to avoid any dub he is in in the future. I can still support a series without supporting Vic Mignonga as a person and I don't know if I'd want to avoid the dubs for series like D.N. Angel, Ouran or FMA. Not to mention he voiced a few characters in Pokemon over the years. It's just a bit of a tricky situation where I'll have to process my feelings on this part of the issue for awhile, although it helps that I haven't watched a dub that featured him in the main cast for years.

 

[PicardMan]

It is strange that he's disappeared from dubbing major roles for much of the mid 2010s. He did appear as an attractive ladies' man in a Space Dandy episode and later had a role in RWBY. It seems like his recent role as Rohan in JoJo is a rare moment of him being in the main cast of an anime in a while. It felt like he got blacklisted or something, but it apparently was just a hiatus. It is obvious that public opinion has shifted on him dramatically as he was beloved to banned in all cons in my state and people who work at those cons spoke poorly of him. The stories are terrifying, but he still hasn't been convicted like Scott Freeman of High School DxD infamy.

 

[Gold Guy]

It is strange that he's disappeared from dubbing major roles for much of the mid 2010s. He did appear as an attractive ladies' man in a Space Dandy episode and later had a role in RWBY. It seems like his recent role as Rohan in JoJo is a rare moment of him being in the main cast of an anime in a while. It felt like he got blacklisted or something, but it apparently was just a hiatus. It is obvious that public opinion has shifted on him dramatically as he was beloved to banned in all cons in my state and people who work at those cons spoke poorly of him. The stories are terrifying, but he still hasn't been convicted like Scott Freeman of High School DxD infamy.

He also voiced Matt in the Digimon Adventure Tri series. I wouldn't even say that he disappeared, but I think as a leading man, he was replaced by VAs like Bryce Papenbrook and Johnny Yong Bosch.

 

[Light Lucario]

It is strange that he's disappeared from dubbing major roles for much of the mid 2010s. He did appear as an attractive ladies' man in a Space Dandy episode and later had a role in RWBY. It seems like his recent role as Rohan in JoJo is a rare moment of him being in the main cast of an anime in a while. It felt like he got blacklisted or something, but it apparently was just a hiatus.

I think that he was also part of the Free! dub. I never saw the series in either language, but I do remember hearing some backlash for the dub partly because of his inclusion in the cast. I'm not sure if it was a hiatus exactly. He just might not have been cast in any really big noteworthy roles. There's a reason why he's still mainly known for roles he played over a decade ago.

It is obvious that public opinion has shifted on him dramatically as he was beloved to banned in all cons in my state and people who work at those cons spoke poorly of him. The stories are terrifying, but he still hasn't been convicted like Scott Freeman of High School DxD infamy.

That seems to be a pretty common experience for a lot of staff workers for the cons he has appeared in. While it's true that he hasn't been convicted yet, these stories still paint a really bad image of himself. There are a lot of people coming out to tell their stories and they are fortunately getting more attention now than when they've tried to speak out in the past. I've even seen a couple of voice actors speak out against him on Twitter. I think that at least two cons have cancelled his appearance after these stories started to get attention recently. I don't know if he can be convicted of anything, but this might make it harder for him to get to cons and endanger other people at least. Letting people know how potentially dangerous he can be is also important so that if he does show up at a con, they can be safe.

He also voiced Matt in the Digimon Adventure Tri series. I wouldn't even say that he disappeared, but I think as a leading man, he was replaced by VAs like Bryce Papenbrook and Johnny Yong Bosch.

Oh yeah. I forgot that he was in the Digimon Adventure Tri dub as Matt. I never got around to watch the series dubbed after watching the subbed version on Crunchyroll. Vic Mignogna was often used during the 2000's for various dubs, but now I'm more likely to hear Bryce Papenbrook as the main character in one of Funimation's dubs. It's possible that he doesn't attract as much attention now as he did in the past or that he wouldn't really do well with Funimation's simulcast dub format to be part of the main cast.

 

[PicardMan]

I think that he was also part of the Free! dub. I never saw the series in either language, but I do remember hearing some backlash for the dub partly because of his inclusion in the cast.

There was also a controversy over him vehemently denying that the character he played was gay, going as far as claiming he talked to the Japanese creators to confirm that character wasn't gay. Any info on this story from anybody?

 

[Light Lucario]

There was also a controversy over him vehemently denying that the character he played was gay, going as far as claiming he talked to the Japanese creators to confirm that character wasn't gay. Any info on this story from anybody?

I've heard about that story as well. I think it was about a character he voiced in the Tsubasa Chronicles, but I don't know much about it. In retrospect, claiming that he confirmed with the Japanese creators that the character wasn't gay should have been more of a red flag for me than it was. If he wasn't homophobic, then I don't think it would have mattered to him or bothered him even to confirm it with the Japanese creators if he was playing a gay character. People have called him out on the whole "some of my best friends are from the LGBTQ community" before, which is admittedly not the best kind of defense against that accusation in the first place, but I was hoping that line of thinking was more sincere than it probably was.

ANN just posted an article about these allegations earlier today: 'Far From Perfect': Fans Recount Unwanted Affection from Voice Actor Vic Mignogna

I've read about most of these on Twitter earlier, but these are still pretty intense and disturbing allegations that really paints him in a new terrible light for me. It even makes me question my own brief experience with him, even though it was positive. I'd like to believe that he still is a kind person due to all of the videos I've seen and the positive experiences other fans have had with him, but that doesn't counter years' worth of absolutely terrible behavior coming to the surface at last. Not to mention knowing more about the accusations makes his apology worse. I thought it was more sincere when I first read it and it still isn't the worst kind of formal apology I've seen before, but there is a lot of self-defense explanations and painting himself as a victim more so than actually taking responsibility for his behavior/action.

I'm still processing more on how this makes me feel personally, but I do genuinely feel bad for all of the people he has harmed in one way or another over the years. If I had know just how bad his reputation was and how many people had negative experiences with him like what was described in the article, I wouldn't have gone to meet him at that convention years ago. I am glad that they are being heard and more attention is being given to their stories. That is one of the few good things to come out of this situation since victims need to have their voices heard instead of being belittled or ignored,.

 

[PicardMan]

If I had know just how bad his reputation was and how many people had negative experiences with him like what was described in the article, I wouldn't have gone to meet him at that convention years ago.

I wasn't aware of all this back in 2011 as the hardcore fans of his seemed to dull the voices of dissenters. I had to hear from a local cosplay celebrity to know about this. It was 2017 when I first heard the stories. They feel so believable considering how uncomfortably close he came to his teenage fans.

 

[Light Lucario]

I wasn't aware of all this back in 2011 as the hardcore fans of his seemed to dull the voices of dissenters. I had to hear from a local cosplay celebrity to know about this. It was 2017 when I first heard the stories. They feel so believable considering how uncomfortably close he came to his teenage fans.

I don't know how long ago I first heard about the homophobia claims, but I've only vaguely heard some rumors about him over the years like how being so overly religious bothered people. I didn't know anything about how he treated staff works at cons or how many cons banned him before. I think I met him at a con around 2014, but I could be mistaken. Now I just wonder if he was a pain to the staff working at that con too. I do remember how he'd often ask people at his panels to speak against rumors about him online. I'm pretty sure that came up during the panel I went to as well. I didn't think much of it at the time, especially when I hadn't heard of anything really detailed like these stories at the time, but it's one of those moments that seems worse in hindsight.

His hardcore fans are still trying to dismiss these articles and accusations. I can understand not wanting to believe someone who seems so nice and kind to be capable of such terrible behavior, but that sadly happens all too often. These stories are pretty believable considering how close to got with his teenage fans and the pictures in the article are rather telling too. Maybe there is some truth to his claim about coming from a very touchy and hug friendly family, but that wouldn't excuse these accusations either, especially with putting his hands in uncomfortable places or kissing kids on the check/neck out of the blue.

 

[Sonic_Eclipse]

I'm not really a Vic fan. Nothing against him, hes just not in my list of fav VAs. But I find it very hard to believe Vic would let himself be photographed hundreds of times hugging/kissing fans if he thought he was doing anything wrong or illegal. Nobody is that stupid. I can't help but feel this is all being over exaggerated.

As for Jessie Pridemore accusing an unnamed VA of raping her. Well It turns out that Todd Haberkorn, as outted himself as the unnamed VA in Jessie's statement. He's given his side of the story, while providing screenshots of their chats. Jessie Pridemore is a liar.

 

[Light Lucario]

I'm not really a Vic fan. Nothing against him, hes just not in my list of fav VAs. But I find it very hard to believe Vic would let himself be photographed hundreds of times hugging/kissing fans if he thought he was doing anything wrong or illegal. Nobody is that stupid. I can't help but feel this is all being over exaggerated.

I don't know about that. Just because he allowed himself to be photographed countless times hugging and kissing fans doesn't really negate the accusations. He may have thought that he was making fans happy by taking those photographs or possibly didn't realize he was crossing the line with where his hands were or kissing them without asking first. It also wouldn't surprise me if he thought he was invisible. He's a popular voice actor and most of the people who he made uncomfortable with the hugs/kisses were teenage girls who may have been either too nervous to speak out or didn't realize until later how his actions crossed the line. He could do potentially whatever he wants and it would be their word against his. Not to mention he has his personal fanclub acting as his sword and shield and he has a good public image too.

Plus, based on what I've seen from other voice actors speaking out against him, this has been an open secret for years. I've seen at least three different voice actors talking about him on Twitter since this started and at least one more has shared the ANN article. I've also heard about a couple of Voice Actors After Dark panels. Some of the voice actors there said that if they weren't worried about losing their jobs, they could bring up a lot about Vic has done over the years. That's why I can't see this situation as being over exaggerated. These accusations were already pretty bad, especially when this has been going on for years, but I think other voice actors speaking out against him and/or sharing the ANN article is extremely telling of how accurate these claims are.

As for Jessie Pridemore accusing an unnamed VA of raping her. Well It turns out that Todd Haberkorn, as outted himself as the unnamed VA in Jessie's statement. He's given his side of the story, while providing screenshots of their chats. Jessie Pridemore is a liar.

I disagree completely. I don't think his side of the story changes much of anything. For starters, it doesn't contradict what she said about Vic. It isn't really out of the ordinary compared to the other accusations from fans and con staff workers either. I don't know if that was the main reason she decided to share her story, but she wanted to save talking about her rapist for another story and focus more on what happened with Vic. I couldn't read through the screenshots of their chat. I can't even read the statement again since I don't have a Facebook account, but I do take issue with the notion of drunk consensual sex. A drunk person can't give consent for sex. I don't know if Jessie was drunk at the time, but she said she blacked out and didn't seem to have any memory of what happened to her. She didn't even fully understand that she was raped until she talked to her ex husband.

Plus, I can't really see her as a liar. She made this story knowing full well that it could end her career. That isn't the kind of decision that a person makes lightly and I can't really see someone taking that risk knowing full well that they're lying. I can't say that it's impossible to make up these kind of accusations, especially when I don't know Jessie or any of the people who have had negative experiences with Vic or any voice actor for that matter. However, given what I understand of how victims of sexual harassment/rape are treated whenever they do speak out, I'd say that it's highly unlikely that she's a liar.

If anything, I think Todd outing himself makes the situation more muddy than a clear black and white issue. He could have easily had a different view of the situation and thought that their sex was consensual. Jessie not having any memory of what happened because of being drunk ro something doesn't change that he did hurt her. Honestly, I think Todd outing himself makes him look far worse to me. It doesn't really come off as an attempt to tell the truth, but rather a power move. Assuming that he is the voice actor Jessie didn't want to mention, which would sadly be fitting considering he seems to be good friends with Vic, instead of waiting for her to name him specifically as a rapist, he already claimed that she's lying and trying to prove his innocence. That is the kind of strategy abusers and rapists use to dismiss their victims' claims.

Even if it turns out that she was lying, I don't think my opinion on Todd would improve since it just comes off as so underhanded and cruel to not even let Jessie say who he is first. If he had at least waited until after she was comfortable giving his name to defend himself, at least it wouldn't have come off like an attempt to immediately shut her down and safe face to protect his career. At this point, I'm just wondering how many other regular voice actors at Funimation are jerks.

 

[Sonic_Eclipse]

I don't know about that. Just because he allowed himself to be photographed countless times hugging and kissing fans doesn't really negate the accusations. He may have thought that he was making fans happy by taking those photographs or possibly didn't realize he was crossing the line with where his hands were or kissing them without asking first. It also wouldn't surprise me if he thought he was invisible. He's a popular voice actor and most of the people who he made uncomfortable with the hugs/kisses were teenage girls who may have been either too nervous to speak out or didn't realize until later how his actions crossed the line. He could do potentially whatever he wants and it would be their word against his. Not to mention he has his personal fanclub acting as his sword and shield and he has a good public image too.

Plus, based on what I've seen from other voice actors speaking out against him, this has been an open secret for years. I've seen at least three different voice actors talking about him on Twitter since this started and at least one more has shared the ANN article. I've also heard about a couple of Voice Actors After Dark panels. Some of the voice actors there said that if they weren't worried about losing their jobs, they could bring up a lot about Vic has done over the years. That's why I can't see this situation as being over exaggerated. These accusations were already pretty bad, especially when this has been going on for years, but I think other voice actors speaking out against him and/or sharing the ANN article is extremely telling of how accurate these claims are.



I disagree completely. I don't think his side of the story changes much of anything. For starters, it doesn't contradict what she said about Vic. It isn't really out of the ordinary compared to the other accusations from fans and con staff workers either. I don't know if that was the main reason she decided to share her story, but she wanted to save talking about her rapist for another story and focus more on what happened with Vic. I couldn't read through the screenshots of their chat. I can't even read the statement again since I don't have a Facebook account, but I do take issue with the notion of drunk consensual sex. A drunk person can't give consent for sex. I don't know if Jessie was drunk at the time, but she said she blacked out and didn't seem to have any memory of what happened to her. She didn't even fully understand that she was raped until she talked to her ex husband.

Plus, I can't really see her as a liar. She made this story knowing full well that it could end her career. That isn't the kind of decision that a person makes lightly and I can't really see someone taking that risk knowing full well that they're lying. I can't say that it's impossible to make up these kind of accusations, especially when I don't know Jessie or any of the people who have had negative experiences with Vic or any voice actor for that matter. However, given what I understand of how victims of sexual harassment/rape are treated whenever they do speak out, I'd say that it's highly unlikely that she's a liar.

If anything, I think Todd outing himself makes the situation more muddy than a clear black and white issue. He could have easily had a different view of the situation and thought that their sex was consensual. Jessie not having any memory of what happened because of being drunk ro something doesn't change that he did hurt her. Honestly, I think Todd outing himself makes him look far worse to me. It doesn't really come off as an attempt to tell the truth, but rather a power move. Assuming that he is the voice actor Jessie didn't want to mention, which would sadly be fitting considering he seems to be good friends with Vic, instead of waiting for her to name him specifically as a rapist, he already claimed that she's lying and trying to prove his innocence. That is the kind of strategy abusers and rapists use to dismiss their victims' claims.

Even if it turns out that she was lying, I don't think my opinion on Todd would improve since it just comes off as so underhanded and cruel to not even let Jessie say who he is first. If he had at least waited until after she was comfortable giving his name to defend himself, at least it wouldn't have come off like an attempt to immediately shut her down and safe face to protect his career. At this point, I'm just wondering how many other regular voice actors at Funimation are jerks.

Somone else just posted their own experience with Todd at a con, and it doesn't really shed him in a good light. Now I don't know what to believe.

My one problem with Jessie's statement is she kept in contact with Todd and pursued him even after she claimed she was raped. Todd claims they both drank a lot, and that it was consensual and both went their seperate ways in the morning. It seems like he wasn't interested in continuing whatever they had going on between them, and she regrets that night. Regret is not rape.

 

[Fone Bone]

These things strike me less as "controversies" and more as "character defects" and "crimes".

 

[Daikun]

These things strike me less as "controversies" and more as "character defects" and "crimes".

Since when are rape and homophobia not controversial?

 

[Fone Bone]

Since when are rape and homophobia not controversial?

Controversy implies there are two sides to how bad they are. Rape and homophobia are unambiguously wrong in all circumstances.