At Tupelo Con 2019 in Tupelo, Mississippi, Vic Mignogna had a panel there over the weekend event that took place between May 4th and May 5th, 2019. During the Q&A segment he talked about his career, voice acting characters in anime, as well as how fans can support him going forward. Instead of shilling the GoFundme page started by Minnesota lawyer Nick Rekieta to help pay for his legal fees in the lawsuit against Funimation, Mignogna instead told fans to spread positivity out into the world.
During the panel, at around 47 minutes in, Mignogna was asked by a fan how do they support him in the future, referring to his current situation where he had been fired from Rooster Teeth and Funimation earlier this year following allegations of misconduct. Some of those allegations turned out to be false, leading to claims of tortious interference, and eventually a lawsuit against Funimation and some of the individuals involved with the #KickVic campaign to have Mignogna driven out of the anime voice acting industry.
YouTuber DiceJunkies uploaded the video from Tupelo Con, which you can check out below.
Mignogna doesn’t get into naming names or bad mouthing anyone. In fact, he does just the opposite, he informs his fans that the best way they can support him is by producing positivity and putting positivity back into the world, saying…
“How do you support me in the future? You know what, if you want to support me in the future… be positive.
“Be a voice for good.
“There’s a lot of hate in the world.
“It’s really sad, especially for those of us that are older, and have been around a while to see it change. It’s really sad to see so many people so fast to be offended by something. So on edge. Just waiting for somebody to offend them, or just waiting to be outraged by something.
“So, the best thing that you and I and all of us can do – and that you can do, because obviously there are a lot of you – be a shining light in your world. No matter how big or small that world may be.
“You may be sitting there thinking ‘I’m quiet and I’m shy and I don’t really talk much and I don’t really have a lot of people in my circle’, yeah but you have some. You may not have as many as that person or that person [points across the room] but there are people in your life, and you have the power to speak words of light, and kindness, and encouragement, and inspiration into those people’s lives… or you also have the power to tear them down, and to make them feel bad, or to hurt them, or to discourage them.
“Now let’s ask the million dollar question: what would you rather someone do in your life? Wouldn’t you want them to be encouraging and supportive? Helpful? Kind? Then you be that for someone else.
“That’s the best thing you can do, okay?”
The response was obviously met with an uproarious response of applause from the attendees.
The entire panel was mostly kept upbeat with a lot of anecdotes and experiences that Mignogna shared throughout his career in the industry. He obviously avoided talking about the lawsuit or any of the other disparaging elements surrounding the #KickVic group.
Mignogna will also be attending various other conventions throughout the year after fans worked hard to get the voice actor approved for the panels following a string of campaigns from the #KickVic group to have him removed from a bunch of conventions. Eventually fan support won out, though, and Vic was re-invited to Kamehameha Con, Bubba Fest, Savannah Con, and other conventions. The outpouring of support was quite strong, with the Bubba Fest organizers claiming that ticket sales were were “tremendous” after it was announced that Mignogna would be attending.
(Thanks for the news tip Ebicentre)
