Accused of Sexual Harassment, Vic Mignogna Sues Funimation
Vic Mignogna, known for voicing Broly in the “Dragon Ball” series of games, films, and tv shows, filed a lawsuit claiming defamation and other charges against Funimation and other voice actors on Thursday, according to public court documents.
Fellow Funimation voice actors Monica Rial and Jamie Marchi, along with Rial’s fiance Ronald Toye, are also named in the suit. Mignogna’s suit stated that he is suing for interference in other work contracts and that the charges made against him accusing him of sexual harassment are false, and affected his career due to not only Funimation’s decision to no longer work with him, but conventions also canceled his appearances. Mignogna and his lawyer, Ty Beard of Beard Harris Bullock Hughes, are seeking “monetary relief over $1,000,000.00” in addition to other relief to which Mignogna “may be justly or equitably entitled.”
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In January, accusations of sexual harassment and homophobia surfaced against Mignogna. Funimation ended its relationship with the voice actor a month later. A popular anime convention attendee, he was accused of sexual harassment by fans, in the form of hugging and kissing without consent. Some of the con attendees who said this happened were underage, and allegations go back as far as 2008. Some voice actors have also spoken out against Mignogna publicly. Marchi detailed her own encounter with Mignogna, and Rial stated that she was also sexually harassed by Mignogna.
I stand with the victims. My experience is minor in comparison to many others; however, having realized this wasn't an isolated incident, I felt compelled to share. pic.twitter.com/qC8Clp7JjQ
— Jamie Marchi (@marchimark) February 8, 2019
Dropping in to say this: stop harassing my friends and colleagues. You want the truth? IT HAPPENED TO ME! I had hoped it wouldn’t come to this but here we are. I don’t owe you anything but if it’ll stop it from happening to someone else, then so be it.
— Monica Rial (@Rialisms) February 6, 2019
Twitter posts by Rial, Marchi, and Toye may now be used as evidence for the lawsuit, with the lawsuit saying that the exposure the actors and Toye (noted as a “either a Funimation agent or employee” in the court documents) provided to accusations against Mignogna via tweeting and retweeting caused the matter to “go viral.” “One or more” of the defendants then “actively” defamed Mignogna to conventions, according to the court document.
Mignogna, perhaps best known for voicing Ed in “Fullmetal Alchemist,” developed a large fan following as a result of his voice work in numerous anime shows, films, and video games. He denied the allegations on his Twitter in a statement in January, calling the accusations “heartbreaking.”
“I would also like to sincerely apologize to anyone who ever felt my interaction with them (a hug or a kiss on the cheek or forehead) was crossing a line,” he wrote. “Never in a million years would it be my intent to make anyone feel uncomfortable.”
Funimation did not respond to Variety’s request for comment. The official court document for Victor Mignogna v Funimation is available below.
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