Just a few months after his failed court case regarding numerous sexual assault allegations, controversial voice actor Vic Mignogna has made the rounds on social media once again with a rambling livestream directly responding to the now-dismissed claims against him.
The 56-year-old actor, known for his roles in anime and video games (Dragon Ball, Persona 3, Fullmetal Alchemist, etc.), came under fire last January following a number of sexual assault allegations from fans and fellow voice actors from Mignogna's former employer, anime distribution company Funimation. The actor denied them, but resulting investigations and accounts led to the actor's termination from his long-time employers, Funimation and Rooster Teeth.
Mignogna's controversy continued to escalate in the summer when the actor decided to take his case to court, suing his former co-stars and Funimation for tortious interference of existing contracts, tortious interference of business relations, civil conspiracy, and defamation. The case was eventually dismissed following a prolonged trial period.
However, the voice actor still has more to say.
This past Tuesday, Mignogna directly addressed his fans on social media in a thirteen-minute livestream that discussed his year of allegations and court cases. He spoke candidly about the allegations from last year from voice actors Monica Rial and Jamie Marchi, deeming them both as false friends and swearing his innocence in the alleged situations.
"I have never once in the history of my life forced myself on anyone, ever," Mignogna said in his livestream. "I've made normal advances that were either accepted or rejected, and that was that." Mignogna continued, swearing that he had never and would never hurt anyone. "Anyone who thinks differently doesn't know me at all and anyone who claims differently is a liar."
Last February, Rial and Marchi, also voice actors, opened up via Twitter regarding their experiences with Mignogna. Both women's accounts involved non-consensual kissing, groping, and grabbing from Mignogna, with Rial's account even recounting an experience of Mignogna forcing himself on her in bed.
The voice actor denied Rial's claims of forcing himself on her in a hotel bed during the weekend of an anime convention. He additionally refuted the idea that he ever had any sexual interest in Marchi and called her claims that he had grabbed her and pulled her hair "disgusting" and outrageous towards sexual assault survivors.
"They [my friends at Funimation] personally witnessed with their own eyes all of these people pretending to be my friends," Mignogna said, discussing the number of his former voice actor co-workers who have expressed their disgust over his alleged behavior.
"I hope none of you have to learn that the people in your lives who you thought were your friends are lying backstabbers who never liked you much to begin with and were secretly hoping, and even plotting, to destroy you."
Source: Anime News Network