Multiple Guests Cancel After Kameha Con Announces Vic Mignogna Appearance
Irving, TX based Kameha Con has been making some waves this week, and not in a good way. The event, scheduled to take place in a few weeks, announced just a couple of days ago that none other than Vic Mignogna has been added to the convention’s guest list.
Needless to say this came as a shock to a lot of people, considering the allegations that have been leveled against Mignogna recently.
In response, a number of guests have cancelled their appearances at the event — Monica Rial, Josh Grelle, Jason Douglas, Daman Mills, and Sarah Wiedenheft. It should come as no surprise that Rial has chosen not to appear, as she is one of Mignogna’s more vocal accusers. Frankly, it’s outright puzzling why any convention would even think to invite both actors right now.
I have decided to cancel my appearance at Kamehacon. This was a difficult decision because the last thing I want to do is disappoint the fans. To make it up to you guys, I’m working on finding a space to do a signing. I will share the details as soon as I have them worked out. ❤️
— Monica Rial (@Rialisms) March 24, 2019
I have withdrawn from my previously announced Friday appearance at Kamehacon in April. My regrets to the fans and friends who had planned to meet me there.
— Jason Douglas (@MrJasonDouglas) March 24, 2019
I'm profoundly sorry and regret to say that I have withdrawn my upcoming appearance at Kamehacon. This has come after a great deal of thought, and ultimately comes down to following what I feel is right. Please understand, we're working on a way to make this up to fans.
— Daman Mills (@DamanMills) March 24, 2019
I have withdrawn my appearance at @KamehaCon next month. Apologies to any attendees that this affects. I am working on a way to make it up to you.
— Josh Grelle (@JoshGrelle) March 25, 2019
Due to unforeseen circumstances, I regret to announce that I have withdrawn my appearance at Kamehacon. I apologize to any attendees this may affect. Please look forward to any future events!
— Sarah 🍀 Wiedenheft (@SarahWiedenheft) March 25, 2019
I've been absolutely livid about this Kamehacon situation. I spent well over an hour arguing through DMs trying to get a refund on the artist table that I spent close to $400 on. Because they refuse to give me my money back, half of my profit will be donated RAINN.
— Samantha Burns (@CheeseCakeChik) March 24, 2019
kameha con waited until 3 weeks before the convention to announce they invited the serial creep to give other guests and panel organizers no chance to back out. scummiest fucking thing
— Name can't be blank (@weeaboo) March 23, 2019
Due to unforeseen circumstances, I regret to announce that I have withdrawn my appearance at Kamehacon. I apologize to any attendees this may affect. Please look forward to any future events!
— Sarah 🍀 Wiedenheft (@SarahWiedenheft) March 25, 2019
And while the con has detailed their harassment policy, they have not posted anything else regarding the Mignogna appearance since.
We will update this story if anything else develops.
I mean, at this point it’s baffling why anyone would invite Mignogna period. Even if the sexual assault allegations are completely false, you can ask any con in the past 15, 20 years that’s had Mignogna as a guest and I guarantee you they’ll all have “Vic stories” of him being a prima donna and rude to staffers, getting drunk, or anything and everything in between. The con staff community is pretty small and we all talk. Even if you haven’t witnessed something, someone you know and trust has. He’s just not worth the hassle, and every convention should know that by now, ESPECIALLY after all this hullabaloo. Just seems like bad business.
It’s what made the decision to have him as a guest at AMKE this past year so baffling. He was a guest 6, 7 years prior or so, and he was just impossible to work with, and we collectively agreed “never again.” I know AMKE got a new Guest Relations head in that interim, but the Con Chair and ECPS board hadn’t really changed in that time, so I just don’t understand the thought process behind inviting him again (and leading to him getting removed because of all of this).
Almost every con I know has banned him at least once with the earliest I know of being Tekko 2 in 2004 after he needed a last minute plane rebooking for an emergency that we found out much later to be a date.
And the problem is that just like you saw with AMKE, they never stuck. There would be a change in the staff and the discussion would move from him being banned to considering if we could perhaps control him and bring him back as a condition. Because ultimately there were always enough fans on staff to make a stink and as cons grew it became more important to get the biggest draw instead of protecting the staff.
“We know but we can’t afford to not invite him.” was an all too common conclusion.
I worked cons for over a decade and retired in no small part to being tired of the misogyny that never seemed to have a consequence. And that was some 7-8 years ago. Sad to know we’ve somehow digressed.