Convention News

Kitchener Comic Con and Creating a Hostile Convention Culture (Updated)

Most of organized fandom spent 2019 getting on board with the idea that maybe inviting Vic Mignogna to your convention is a bad idea. The whisper network about the once prolific voice actor finally went public as several women came forward with their stories of harassment. Most conventions decided Mignogna was not remotely worth the hassle (finally), and the vast majority of his appearances were cancelled.

It’s important to note that not all of them of were.

You see, there are still a number of conventions that think it’s a good idea to invite a man with that many allegations of harassment against them in their doors. A man who lost a lawsuit against his accusers and former employer over these claims. A man who inspired the obnoxious hate group “I Stand With Vic,” which is composed of his few remaining fans in deep denial and opportunistic comicsgaters tried to make a buck off of suburban misogynist outrage.

One of those conventions is Kitchener, Ontario’s Kitchener Comic Con. On February 3rd, the con announced that Mignogna will be appearing at their 2020 event (scheduled for February 29th and March 1st) at Kitchener City Hall.

It should go without saying that many people in the convention community who would rather cons not invite a guest who has been repeatedly accused of harassment were a tad bit outraged. It’s not hard to find tweets from people angry with the convention over the decision.

Now a person could in theory argue that Mignogna is still a notable figure in the anime industry, that while still disgraced someone might want to meet him. But then you scroll down their guest list and you find another name: Nick Rekieta.

Nick Rekieta, who is technically a lawyer, is best known as “that guy who funded Vic Mignogna’s failed lawsuit” as he started the GoFundMe that Mignogna used to hire Rekieta’s family friend Texas estate lawyer Ty Beard. As mentioned previously, Beard spectacularly lost that case (though it is currently being appealed). Rekieta also streams regularly on Youtube, where he has mocked Mignogna’s critics as well as the defendants (and their attorneys) in the lawsuit he urged Mignogna to file.

A lawsuit which, as mentioned multiple times previously, Mignogna lost.

This isn’t the first time that Kitchener Comic Con has been accused of not taking harassment seriously. Last year, at a volunteer meeting, according to this Reddit post a Kitchener Comic Con staff organizer Ron Hoppe allegedly made statements dismissing concerns:

During the meeting, many people were made uncomfortable and yelling even broke out about his stance on sexual harassment of female cosplayers at the convention. Ron made it very clear that he was in charge, and what he says goes. And his stance is that volunteers/staff must do nothing to intervene and take absolutely no action to de-escalate if they observe acts of harassment, unless a formal complaint is made. The only exception to this rule is that if we see a cosplayer accepting money for photos, we must intervene because then they’re a vendor and we’d need to get a cut. Harassment in this case includes following people around, unwanted picture taking, and unwanted physical contact.

Ron’s position was that we were likely going to see women faking harassment in order to “attack the convention” and “take it down.”

If you read the entire Reddit post, it includes responses from the convention. Kitchener Comic Con’s final response boiled down to “In this specific instance, the opinions shared by one of our staff members at the volunteer meeting, did not reflect our convention policy.” But regardless of the convention’s official stance, it’s hard to take seriously if the event’s organizer actually made comments like this off the cuff.

Kitchener Comic Con’s staff doesn’t seem to take harassment well though. When cosplayer “That Joker Guy” complained about the announcement video for Mignogna (which briefly includes a photo of That Joker Guy), he found himself banned from the Kitcher Comic Con facebook page:

Despite including me in the video, when I commented on their event page that their announcement for their “big guest” seemed to be purposely hidden under a link and not revealed in the text of the video (the video that includes the photo of me from many years ago) and raised the allegations against that guest, they instantly blocked me from their page. This is not a surprise, as they’ve been aggressive with other people who have posted anything negative to their page in the past, up to and including sending fake legal threats to anyone who said anything negative online.

All in all, while I think that every geek deserves to have a convention they can get to and spend a fun weekend at, it’s hard to recommend any event that doesn’t seem to take harassment seriously. By inviting guests like Mignogna and Rekieta, Kitchener Comic Con seems to be making it clear that they only really care about supporting the most toxic elements of the fandom, and Kitchener, Ontario certainly deserves better.

Frankly everyone does.


Update (2/10 4:30pm) After they requested that we reach out in our comment section, we contacted Kitchener Comic Con. We won’t include the full text of their entire response due to its length (you can read the full email here), but needless to say they took issue with our coverage. Staff member Cress Holmes clarified that they had the rights to the image of “That Joker Guy” (who had previously been a guest at their con), though I’m not sure that was the point of the cosplayer’s complaint. Holmes also took issue with our mention of the Reddit post from last year. Holmes wrote to us:

After a heated discussion, the person who wrote the reddit thread was demanding several unreasonable things of our event:

  • pre-screen attendees, to ensure they weren’t a “risk”
  • direct convention volunteers (many of whom are minors and teens) to get DIRECTLY INVOLVED in any active situations of abuse or harassment
  • direct our staff/volunteers to monitor every attendee for potential harassment and intervene if they THINK someone is going to harass someone else

This is lunacy. There is no way we are going to direct minors to put themselves in HARMS WAY for the sake of appeasing anyone. The claim that the convention owner said that we’re not doing anything is a blatant misrepresentation of what was said.

So there’s a lot to unpack here.

It is true that most cons don’t pre-screen their attendees. It’s a difficult task and beyond the resources for even the more successful events. If someone actually asked for this to happen, beyond maybe managing a ban list for known harassers, it would be beyond a con of this size to reasonably do.

But we run into some weirdness with the rest. Most conventions direct their staff to intervene if they believe harassment is occurring. Many train their workers to ask if everything is okay in questionable situations, and to directly step in if obvious direct harassment is occurring. If a convention doesn’t have policies and training for those very situations, they are failing in their duty to their attendees.

And you may have noticed something in there — and one of Kitchener Comic Con’s key reasons for objecting is that (as they directly state in their statement to us) many of their volunteers are minors. I’ve been working conventions for over twenty years, and in my experience any convention that allows people under the age of eighteen to work their event (even as just a volunteer) is putting people in harm’s way and opening themselves up to massive liabilities.

When I pointed out how I thought that these were not unreasonable requests to the staff, and asked for verification that minors were working the event, Kitchener Comic Con’s Cress Holmes responded:

Don’t misrepresent what I am saying. Tread carefully.

I am VERY clear in what we direct our staff and volunteers to do. If they are made aware of harassment or situations where people are uncomfortable, they bring that person to security personnel so they can report the issue. None of our staff nor our volunteers are licensed in security. I don’t care if every other convention in the world is doing it, we’re following the law and the rules of our Province. We aren’t law enforcement, we aren’t security licensed. We bring them to people who are. We have instructed our volunteers and staff with how to handle situations, they are trained in how to RESPOND to this. We follow the law on the matter.

Nobody on STAFF is a minor. We have VOLUNTEERS that are minors, who participate with parental consent.

You’ve already stated your intentions are to “editorialize” this coverage. I hope that you consider the actions of posting defamatory, incorrect opinion and information that others might use to cause damages to our staff or event.

Regards,
– Cress

It is true that we editorialize here at Nerd & Tie — we’ve never denied that or pretended otherwise. Our voice is one of the reasons people come back to this site time and time again for coverage of issues in the convention scene.

I’ve said this before though, and I will say this again — I will never consider any convention that allows minors to work their events a safe one for both the minors working and the attendees. I personally consider it irresponsible, but considering the convention’s headline guest is Vic Mignogna, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised.

Update (2/10 7pm) The author of the previously cited Reddit post has responded to Kitchener Comic Con’s claims.

Trae Dorn

Trae Dorn has been staffing conventions for over twenty-five years. They also wrote and drew the now completed webcomic UnCONventional, and produce the podcasts BS-Free Witchcraft, On This Day With Trae, Stormwood & Associates, The Meatgrinder, and The Nerd & Tie Podcast. This leads many to ask how the heck they have the time to get it all done. Trae says they have the time because they “do it all quite poorly.”

125 thoughts on “Kitchener Comic Con and Creating a Hostile Convention Culture (Updated)

  • Jon Borden

    too bad this information has already been debunked with a simple emil chain

    Reply
    • So you’re saying that Vic Mignogna and Nick Rekieta aren’t guests at Kitchener Comic Con? Are you saying the official convention social media is lying? Because you’re not being very specific.

      Reply
      • Jon Borden

        the con has been handling the kickvic crowd in a proffessional manner, they ask for any evidence that backs kickvics claims only to be met with quote “you can go to hell.” everyone has read the email chains and you are just searching for clout given that your sorry ass is not relavent.

        Reply
          • Jon Borden

            oh look looks like i have attracted the attention of a fat gorilla and a fat hobbit trying to be smart

            Reply
            • And with that you’ve now violated multiple comments policies. Goodbye.

              Reply
            • Cpman

              Hey, there’s absolutely no need to resort to name calling and devolving the discussion to simple name calling.

              Reply
          • 1000.000000actual

            where its wrong lol your a loser. fabricated website with fabricated smear campaign. Why not ask Monica and Jamie Marchi how there careers are doing. THEY ARE getting no work. They are getting no attendees at events. they have been exposed.

            Reply
            • Wow, welcome to the ban list. Should have read the comment policy.

              And… yes, Monica and Jamie are working. And getting invited to major cons. Like Monica just got announced for Acen literally last week. So… one gets invited to the biggest anime con in the midwest, while Vic is… going to rural Canada?

              So much winning. XD

              Reply
              • Penny Carmichael

                Monica was invited to a convention Vic went to last year. You can’t say Vic does “bad cons “when Monica is literally doing the same cons he already went to.

                The size of the con is irrelevant anyway, it’s about how much they make at it. A small timer getting invited to a larger convention means nothing if their tables are empty.

                Reply
                • Sounds like a real stretch, considering Vic even begged his fans to get cons to invite him. Because only a few rinky-dink ones will ask him to come now

              • James Nicoll

                Kitchener is one of Canada’s larger communities by population. _Baden_ or _Ayr_, now, _that_ would be rural.

                Acceptable digs at Kitchener include “roads are non-Euclidian”, “has a surprisingly high hate crime rate for a town that had Nazi rallies in the 1930s”, and “is named after the man who pioneered concentration camps.” But it’s not rural.

                Reply
                • Yeah, rural was inaccurate. I live in a smaller town than that.

                  Are there any other cons there? Kitchener’s roughly the size of Madison, WI (both in in-city population and metro area population) and they have a half dozen.

                • James Nicoll

                  If there are, I am unaware of them. Watsfic used to run an annual D&D tourney and WLU had a con for a while but I am unaware of more recent efforts.

                • James Nicoll

                  I am mostly a book guy so that’s where my focus is. It is a bit odd there’s nothing locally like Ad Astra or even AFKcon, given that there are at least fifty local SF authors around whom a con could be built.

                • Sounds like a great opportunity for someone to start a Lit con.

                • James Nicoll

                  The best I’ve managed is the occasional public reading.

                • James Nicoll

                  I would love for there to be a local volunteer-focused con (as opposed to profit driven) but while I would be happy to help with such a thing, my particular constellation of traits, being a low energy nearly sixty year old paranoid control freak, is arguably not exactly an idea fit for the task of convincing people it would be fun. Or so I suspect they’re secretly thinking.

                • Dusty Ayres

                  If you can find enough people, raise enough money to stage it (possibly through crowdsourcing) and plan it to the max, you and them can pull it off, and I’ll bet that you’ll succeed.

                • Dusty Ayres

                  Yet unlike Toronto and Hamilton, Kitchener has a light rail line, with a possible future expansion/extension, built with the support of the mayor of the city, unlike Toronto, which has done nothing but build two shitty Iines of it instead of the ten that were supposed to be built, and Hamilton, which had its LRT plans destroyed by our fat asshole of a premier (governor) Doug Ford. So at least in one thing, Kitchener has beaten Hamilton and Toronto!

  • Wrong
    Appeals are still ongoing
    Generic hitpiece

    The salt is glorious

    Reply
    • Did you not read the article where it mentions the appeal? If you continue to comment without actually reading the article, you will be asked to leave. Our comments policy is pretty clear.

      Reply
  • Also the entire community stands with vic
    Theres 280 K in the gofundme and vics popularity has trippled.
    Monica has been exposed over as a lying rat and she can barely get fans to buy her autographs in cons where thousands gather.
    Vic draws massive lines where ever he goes
    The real fans speak with their wallets.

    Moron.

    Reply
    • Hi. In two comments you’ve violated multiple comment policies on our site. You are now banned.

      Edit: Also, the courts have said Monica wasn’t lying, Vic has gone from the biggest cons to micro-events in the middle of nowhere, and Vic is out of work and growing more irrelevant by the day. And yes, the GoFundMe grows — because y’all are the easiest grift the world has ever seen.

      Reply
      • ShadowFalls

        Sorry, you are incorrect with your assertion. The court in no way concluded that Monica Rial nor anyone else was telling the truth. A victory of only Vic Mignogna can make that certain fact. Until appeals are decided, the determination remains unknown.

        Your response here shows your excessive bias on this article that spews out information from others, is this what journalism is now?

        Reply
        • The only people who think the appeal will succeed are delusional, and yes the courts decided the defendants were telling the truth. That’s literally why the case was dismissed. But hey, thanks for playing.

          Reply
          • Penny Carmichael

            Actually the decision was based on right to freedom of speech, not if someone was telling the truth. I advise you to do your research next time so you don’t look foolish, Trae.

            Reply
            • I’ve read the transcripts. All of them. You understand that it’s covered by freedom of speech BECAUSE it’s true, right? That’s the whole point of defamation law. — the stuff that’s not true isn’t protected.

              Reply
      • Brian Clark

        Only because they’re disagreeing with you though, let’s make that clear to people that you only give a shit about profanity and name calling when the person is in disagreement with your opinion, case on point, you did not once warn HK Hunter for his derogatory comment, but of course, he was siding with you at the time.

        Reply
      • Steve DeJohn

        No sir. You are wrong.

        Reply
        • Cpman

          Name a big anime con Vic can still go to, the likes of sakura con(you know the one he made a commercial for back in the day), anime midwest, comic con LA, you know the top stuff.

          Reply
    • HK Hunter

      I sure as fuck don’t lol

      Reply
  • Greetings Trae, you didn’t feel the need to reach out to us who run the convention for comment or clarification? Duly noted!

    Our inbox is open if you’re ready and open to write some retractions. Press@kitchenercomiccon.com in case you couldn’t find it on our website.

    Reply
    • Hi! I didn’t reach out because your convention already made official statements regarding the Reddit post last year (which we referred to and are included in the link in the article). If you have any additional comments, we’d be happy to hear them — however as the issue many take with your event are in regards to two of your guests of honor, I’m not sure what you’d have to add. I will be sending an email shortly.

      Reply
      • Jimmy Gish

        Well, for one thing, those are posts from last year. Everyone is supposedly so concerned over a guest this year. That is a new development. You need new comment. You have a duty to obtain that new comment, if you wish to maintain credibility as a responsible journalist.

        Reply
        • So no… that’s not how this works. Yes, it’s important that the con was allowed to respond on the issue from 2019, but the link provided already included that response.

          But the rest of the article is about how the con invited two guests, with the source being official releases from the con. We started with official statements — so no, a comment is not actually required.

          Reply
          • Jimmy Gish

            You SOMEHOW don’t think that the convention should be allowed to respond to the people attacking it since this announcement, including yourself? You think that LAST YEAR’S STATEMENTS count for that?

            No, Trae, you are mistaken here. That’s not “how it works.” If you want to write an editorial, then write an editorial. But, don’t frame it as a news piece and stick it under the Convention News tab.

            Reply
            • We often editorialize in our articles. We’ve never denied that. Welcome to the website, if you don’t like it — feel free to leave.

              Reply
              • Meiko Akutsuki

                If you don’t like Vic being invited to a convention don’t try to ruin the con runners business for inviting someone that brings money.

                Reply
                • We write articles about cons and provide commentary on the con scene. Literally the point of this part of the website. You take an action, you get judged by that action.

              • Andulvar

                This True Dorm guy is a real asshole. No wonder no one reads their shit.

                Reply
      • Got the e-mail, thanks for the quick response. Replied!

        Reply
    • why should they reach out to you? YOU ARE NOT A LAWYER! Stop pretending to be.. When the person who runs this tells someone in a comment to “eat a d*ck” because there’s not free parking that right there speaks so much volume on the event!

      Reply
      • Jimmy Gish

        Cressida cannot read minds to know that an article is being written, and non-vetted comments from a year ago aren’t reliable or current. A one-sided article is not “journalism.” It’s a hit piece.

        Reply
        • Ah yes, the hit piece of “Here’s something the con officially announced” — what a one sided story.

          Reply
        • Cpman

          “CAP LOCKS HOW DO THEY WORK!!!!”
          Seriously now, please act like a professional if you’re the director of communications and stop screaming like some child.

          Reply
          • Dusty Ayres

            @Cress, in a more nicer way:

            Disqus has italics formatting that can be added to a comment, as shown in the bottom of the commenting window; try to use it next time.

            Reply
          • Dusty Ayres

            @disqus_eaJk5Ilgo1:disqus, there’s something called italics that are a part of the current function of Disqus (shown at the bottom of a comment window); learn how to use them, please.

            Reply
      • So in fairness, normally we do reach out to cons on stories like this. Since our issue is that two people have been invited and the con is well aware of the controversy surrounding them, we chose not to in this case — but it is not unreasonable for a convention’s press contact to request they be asked for comment.

        Reply
  • Thank you for bringing awareness to this sham of a con! Hubby was invited as a guest cosplayer and was excited to kit up. We were willing to look the other way at Ron’s antics and have fun. BUT inviting Vic crossed a line.

    Reply
  • 1000.000000actual

    hope you get sued for Defamation next. Obvious smear campaign. Your part of the problem.

    Reply
  • Jeff Hartz

    Soooo…. First Cress says they don’t want to get their volunteers involved because they’re minors. HIS EXACT WORDS. Then he wants to try and say you’re putting words in his mouth by referring to them as “staff” when they’re just “volunteers”.
    Then says “There is no way we are going to direct minors to put themselves in HARMS WAY for the sake of appeasing anyone”. Then “We have instructed our volunteers and staff with how to handle situations, they are trained in how to RESPOND to this”.
    Is it possible for just ONE coherent answer? And not a bunch of emotionally-fueled responses that just seem like a another hole this guy is digging in his attempt to “one up”, intimidate his detractors, and make it seem like he’s not well versed in social media?
    No wonder he wants you to “tread carefully”. His posts seem like piles of dog turds all over the road.

    Anyway, a mere 741 km from Vic’s deviant visage is C2E2 in Chicago that same weekend. They don’t feel the need to hide their guest list. Their “Staffinteers” (since Cress can’t seem to know which term to use) are all of legal age, and they instantly seem to know without the benefit of SWAT training what to do if there’s an issue- they call or text somebody who can take the appropriate steps. Well, maybe cell phones will come to Canada around the same time as awareness of the feelings of the congoers and not the con organizers…

    Reply
    • Correction — I believe Cress is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.

      Reply
  • Ashton Peterson

    Trae, I have some insight on Vic and was wondering if you had a direct work email or if I should use the “tips” address listed on the site.

    Reply
  • Danielle White

    As someone who has criticized this con quite a lot, I have to wonder how many people actually would attend Kitchener Comic Con if it wasn’t for all this drama about Vic Mignogna…or even know the con exists. This comments section is literally filled with people going on about how delusional the KickVic people are or how ignorant all the I Stand with Vic people can be. I hope something good comes out of this because the Kitchener area deserves a good con.

    Reply
    • Steve DeJohn

      I would have gone but can’t make it. It’s too bad because the dude has more charisma than a D&D character sheet. Or whatever.

      Reply
    • Dusty Ayres

      I would’ve attended it this year (had I known about it beforehand) only because it was the last day of the month, I could afford to go to it, I can now get to Kitchener/Waterloo faster by GO Transit, and because it was one of the only conventions to be held before the Corona virus caused things to be shut down. Next year….I’ll think about it.

      Reply
  • NightmareSnake

    Nothing is wrong with Vic Mignogna. Accusations are not convictions.
    If you don’t like the guy, don’t go. Discrediting an entire con over it is a
    fool’s errand.

    Reply
    • Vic Mignogna has been a problem for years, and the courts literally ruled that the accusers weren’t lying. As far as I’m concerned, any con that invites Mignogna is saying they are cool with harassers, any con that invites Nick Rekieta is endorsing what he says on his youtube channel, and any con that allows people under the age of eighteen to volunteer for it is poorly managed.

      Reply
      • buuzorr

        This is a total misrepresentation of what happened during TCPA hearing. The court did not rule that the defendants weren’t lying or that there was any truth to their statements. The court ruled that there was no sufficient evidence brought in by the plaintiff to show defamation or tortious interference.

        Reply
        • Cpman

          So Vic and his lawyers couldn’t prove that they weren’t lieing? Got it, thanks for the right info ^_^

          Reply
          • buuzorr

            No, the court found that Vic and his lawyers couldn’t prove that what the defendants said online was defamatory. They couldn’t prove that the defendants interfered with contracts or con invites. Whether or not what was said about Vic is the truth or not in this case would be a fact question (of probably many) that a judge or jury would need to rule on if the case moved passed TCPA and gone to trial.

            Reply
            • You realize the reason they couldn’t prove the statements were defamatory is because saying something true isn’t defamation, right?

              Reply
              • buuzorr

                You do realize the reason they couldn’t prove defamation is because the plaintiff couldn’t sufficiently show damages right? The whole point of defamation law is to seek restitution for a damaged reputation. People have a right to free speech, not but if that speech causes damage to someone’s reputation. Whether or not the stories that the defendants shared are true would be questions of fact in this particular case that would need to be answered by the judge or jury if the case ever got to trial. It didn’t.

                Reply
              • Steve DeJohn

                Boy howdy, you’re gonna need to switch up this way of thinking if anyone ever decides to accuse you of something you never did. Ha ha.

                Reply
              • You realize at the TCPA stage of a hearing there’s no proving anything, right?

                Reply
      • Brian Clark

        So high school kids shouldn’t be allowed to volunteer for their graduation hours? Which arbitrary reason would you like to shit out your obtuse mouth?

        Reply
        • Because con staff and volunteers are often required to make judgement calls. And what do you do if an angry adult tries to force their way past a fourteen year old badge checker? What if that fourteen year old is injured by a belligerent attendee? There are liabilities here – both legal and moral. Cons that use kids for free labor are unsafe and poorly managed, period.

          Reply
        • Dusty Ayres

          You can disagree with him in a more nicer manner than that.

          Reply
          • Also — and someone can correct me if I’m wrong — Kitchener Comic Con isn’t even a nonprofit event. So I’d say the high school kids could maybe volunteer for an actual charity or something?

            Reply
            • Dusty Ayres

              The volunteering can be used on their resumes, if not their school records.

              Reply
              • That doesn’t explain why said high school kids couldn’t volunteer for an actual charity instead.

                Also… what’s the legal situation with volunteering for for-profit companies in Canada? I honestly don’t know, but it’s kind of a hot button issue here in the states.

                Reply
                • Dusty Ayres

                  This is just as good as an actual charity.

                  I must say, I’m damn glad I don’t have to be a student today; I have Asperger’s and some other issues, and volunteering would have been a problem for me.

                • Dusty Ayres

                  It shouldn’t be a hot button anything at all; if a kid wants to volunteer at a for profit sci-fi con and have that on their CV or have it count as volunteer time, then let them do so (with precautions, of course.)

                • Well, in the US it’s considered a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act for a for-profit business to use uncompensated, volunteer labor — and it’s a hot button issue because some for profit US conventions have violated this law.

                  I don’t know what the legal status of this kind of labor would be in Canada though is what I’m saying.

                • Dusty Ayres

                  Here, it isn’t a problem, IIRC, and Informa (the company that runs Fan Expo) does that a lot.

    • Dusty Ayres

      Vic went and said some sexual things at a convention masquerade a while back (about a 13-year old girl in a green costume) that more or less implied that she was an Orion woman from Star Trek; if that isn’t proof of him being what people have accused him of, I don’t know what is.

      Reply
  • Glad someone’s calling out this con for what it is. They way the staff is behaving in emails and comments is appallingly unprofessional and quite frankly doesn’t make me feel safe attending their event, forget the fact Vic is a guest.

    Reply
  • Thank you for putting yourself out there. Vic’s fans are so toxic. A looooot of butthurt fanboys in these comments.

    Reply
  • Steve DeJohn

    The case lost at TCPA because the TCPA is a ridiculous, flawed idea. In the sense of fairness, the Judge did a terrible job handling what was brought to that hearing.

    In fact the judge stated he assumed he’d see everyone back in court again for appeals. It was strange behavior.

    Nevertheless, appeals are in motion.

    So your stance appears to be that you will believe or disbelieve someone based on the outcome of a court case. You must think OJ Simpson didn’t do it and to question it is unconscionable.

    You clearly don’t know the facts of the case or have taken a very loose interpretation of them and haven’t been following it nearly as much as us nerds. And that is how you reach the conclusion that the accusers must be telling the truth which then must mean Vic Mignona is a sexual predator and anyone daring to host him condones that behavior.

    Well, count me in then cause my wife and I met him and he was as genuine a person I ever met. He even held my infant daughter in a moment of pure adoration. That’s MY first hand experience. Have you got one?

    And as for cons, you are either misinformed or flat-out lying about which ones he is attending and how many are going. He brings in record numbers. At the con I went to his lines were embarrassingly longer than everyone else’s (I guess no one really cares about Joey Fatone anymore…). He even did a meet and greet at a small comic shop that attracted, what, SEVEN HUNDRED people and brought a huge amount of revenue in for this guy. And what happened? He got harassed by lunatics, not anyone who came to see Vic.

    And now you are jumping in with the other attention-craved nutbars attacking a show for daring to have an opinion different than yours. In fact it’s bordering on defamation since the claims you are making could absolutely affect the public support of the con and total number of visitors, thus affecting their business.

    So you’re either a poor journalist, a liar, or you just dropped the ball on this one thing.

    I’m gonna go with the first two. And also the last one.

    Reply
    • According to Fancons dot com (assuming I counted right), the number of cons Vic did in
      2016 – 37
      2017 – 31
      2018 – 34

      And now…
      2019 – 13
      2020 – 5 (Currently booked)

      And these are smaller shows than he used to get booked at. Like significantly. It’s amazing how wrong you vicstans are at every turn. I don’t even need to start on your complete misunderstanding of the case…

      Reply
      • Dusty Ayres

        As I said above, these people are trying to claim a victory out of a defeat.

        Reply
    • “The TCPA is a ridiculous, flawed idea”?

      The fuck does that even mean? From a legal standpoint, its an absolutely needed defense, its a defense that has been updated and refined to have one of the most strenuous arbitration processes in civil court. Id absolutely love to hear why you think its such a flawed concept.

      In the sense of fairness, the judge acted with as much decorum as he could given the shitshow that was Beard’s case. Maybe you think he did a terrible job because almost every single motion Beard filed was goddamned gobbledegook, incorrectly filed, or irrelevent and it forced him to be short. Heres a tip, you want to know why he said that about appeals? Because he knows Ty is a shitshow and he’d make the absolutely horrible decision to appeal. Ty is a fucking moron, hard stop. I refer to the whole “notary by phone” as the extent of proof I need to throw out.

      Beard had MANY opportunities to try to get this case under control. Chupp practically handed Ty the right thing to do many times and Ty ignored it.

      You say you kept up with the case, and throw around you how you think Trae is wrong, but come on, man. He admitted in his goddamned deposition that he pulled Jamie’s hair. That makes the basis of Jamie’s complaint true. The rest is a bit harder to nail down, but anyone worth their intuition should know if the dude was lying about one thing, hes probably lying about them all.

      You want to know why he was nice to you? Bevause he knew he couldnt fuck your wife and your kid was just a smidge too young for him. Thats it. Predators dont display their behaviors around non-prey. But keep saying how good of a guy he is when this case has trudged up so much stuff that makes him look worse than the case itself even did. Cheating on his fiance? Lying under oath about being involved in court cases? Transferring ownership of his home illegally to cover his ass when he loses? So many other accusations, affidavits, and points of evidence that paint him as the exact kind of scumbag he tried to prove he wasnt? Sounds like a standup guy.

      And no, this piece is not bordering on defamation, because just like the point of the case that you people like to simply ignore, is that it cant be defamation if its true. He said nothing that wasnt true. The end.

      Reply
  • neko_indi

    Glad to see you speaking up.

    I disagree with your very strong stance about a con allowing minors to volunteer in any capacity as being an unsafe practice though. I’ve been involved with many events of varying types where teens have volunteered, and been quite capable and safe.

    Now, to be fair: those events have been very careful about where teens are placed as volunteers. Teens are not used for security, are always in positions where they are part of a team, and are not left in vulnerable positions (such as being in a dressing room or an isolated corridor alone with an adult). They’ve been public greeters, ticket window, waste management (outdoor festivals with composting and recycling stations, directing people which stuff goes in which bin), stage crew for changeovers. Some of the teens I’ve worked with have been great volunteers, and took the opportunity to try something new, learn some skills, knowing that if they didn’t like the role, they could do something else the next year with no worries.

    So, yes, precautions need to be taken in order to ensure safety. But let’s not just blanket bans teens from volunteering.

    Reply
    • It’s just something that no one can change my mind on. Like I will never feel safe at a con with underage workers.

      Reply
    • Dusty Ayres

      That’s strange, because I was in security as a teenager at cons in the ’80’s and ’90’s more than a few times, and nobody had a problem with it. Times have changed.

      Reply
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  • I am so sorry this comments section is full of attacks and Vic fans… this con deserves to be called out for its behavior and you are not wrong for doing so.

    Reply
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