[Update 2/20/2019:] Vic Mignogna posted a tweet confirming that the GoFundMe has been setup for legal expenses and that he is moving forward with legal recourse to save his 20 year career.
— vic mignogna (@vicmignogna) February 21, 2019
[Original article:] For a short while it seemed like anime voice actor, Vic Mignogna, would be a punching bag for the people targeting him based on decade old allegations and some misrepresented photos used to defame him and end his career. This was fueled mostly by specific outlets who have put cross-hairs on Mignogna with the intent of forcing him out of the anime industry. Well, apparently Mignogna is not standing by idly and has been putting together a legal team.
Lawyer Nick Rekieta has been keeping track of the claims made against Mignogna and updating anime fans on what sort of options and legal tactics the voice of Broly from Dragon Ball Super: Broly could take in order to clear his name from the defamatory claims being spread about him.
In his latest video on the YouTube channel Rekieta Law, Rekieta stated that he would be starting a GoFundMe campaign to help Mignogna pay for the legal fees in order to fight against some of the media outlets and corporations that have targeted him.
The GoFundMe campaign has already accrued $7,000, with a goal of $100,000.
According to Rekieta, he mentions on the GoFundMe page…
“This Fund is set up for Vic’s legal defense fees. There are MANY possible defendants in different jurisdictions, from boring bloggers to multi-million, even multi-billion dollar corporations. It takes an agile and experienced (read: not cheap) legal team to coordinate this kind of strategy.
“I AM NOT REPRESENTING VIC IN A LEGAL CAPACITY, but I am aware of the team who is and will coordinate this fund to pay for Vic’s legal fees. Litigation costs are highly dependent on the actions of your opponents, so I’m hoping to raise enough to account for that. We will announce the disposition of any extra funds candidly and provide updates on the usage of funds to the extent that such information can be made public.
“You know Vic, whether you’ve supported Vic for years, or just recently found out about his situation, you know he’d never ask for this. That’s why I am doing this and he is not involved. He is thankful for prayers and support but, in my professional capacity as an attorney, I know this comes at significant financial cost.
“BUT IT’S TIME TO FIGHT BACK. Brigades of pseudo-anonymous keyboard warriors cannot be allowed to defame and destroy decades of goodwill on rumor and unverifiable allegation. Companies cannot rely on non-credible accusations and devastate a career for virtue points.”
What Rekieta is referring to are the numerous articles from various media outlets basically painting Vic Mignogna as a villain and guilty of misconduct, even though no formal reports have been filed and no court cases have been made (yet).
Despite the lack of evidence it hasn’t stopped sites like i09 from jumping on the case to smear Mignogna, which they did in a piece that was published on February 19th, 2019.
However, it turns out that the author of the piece, Beth Elderkin, actually has ties to one of the subjects mentioned in the article, without disclosing the potential conflict of interest. This was detailed in a video by YouTuber YellowFlash.
Things took a very interesting turn when it was discovered that one of the individuals involved in Funimation’s internal investigation for Mignogna, which eventually led to his firing, was fellow Funimation voice actress, Samantha Inoue-Harte. She recently made headlines for fabricating a SWATting hoax against supporters of Mignogna, which instantly called into question the legitimacy of her testimony or involvement with Funimation’s investigation.
If any legal proceedings go far enough into the discovery phase then it could unearth some interesting results.
Some people were afraid that the GoFundMe would be taken down by false-flaggers, but Rekieta assured them that that wasn’t going to happen.
Trust me, false flagging or defaming a GoFundMe created by a lawyer, and going to the legal trust of a Team of wildly experienced litigators handling Vic’s case will not be taken lightly. https://t.co/VO9HZW0Qbw
— Rekieta Law: Speech is Free, but Lawyers Aren’t (@NickRekieta) February 20, 2019
The GoFundMe is live right now and will be updated when new information arrives regarding Mignogna’s potential lawsuit.
(Thanks for the news tip Mugen Tenshin and YellowFlash)
