Yeah, I'm not calling for him to be run out of Houston, lose his businesses, or whatever. So I don't think I'm being hypocritical here. I'm just saying having Anime Matsuri closely associated with Vic might not be such a hot idea. Vic hasn't displayed any of the creepy-ass behaviors Leigh has.
The girls over on the BP posted that an overwhelming majority of the EGL community will not associate with AM because they think the guy is a straight up creeper. That doesn't describe Vic.
Having him involved in this might almost be like having Zoom or KingofPol involved in it.
I think people tend to falling into the trap of many people online who equate people along group identity lines. But your logic, if you were contracted by a company, and the CEO was known for hitting on his junior colleagues and shady business practices. Then you must be a bad person, and approve of the CEOs lifestyle, because you associated with that company, whether you knew of that information or not. You contract isn't just a contract, its a political statement to everyone around you.
The main things I'm worried about WRT Matsuri are:
- They'll use this situation to try and draw attention away from their shady history...
- A. ...and use that opportunity to take advantage of some other person or group. GoFundMe scans aren't unheard of, and they'd probably be less complicated than some of their earlier antics (like the fraudulent wholesale auto-parts scam).
- That Vic isn't aware of their past & they might use his situation (few cons willing to take him) to exploit him, say collecting fees for his autographs & not actually paying him or providing his room & board.
I don't think he has too much to worry about WRT association. Most of the people who'd go that route probably already hate Vic based on the allegations. The main non-monetary consequence I could see would be if scenario 1A played out & Vic felt responsible for those guys taking advantage of his fans.
So let's break this down a tiny bit. Set aside all of Leigh's attitudes, creepyness etc etc.
This guy, or his team around him, are one
hell of a set of smart business people. See, the other cons have basically dumped Vic straight away, not even so much as a note of apology. His fanbase, and a lot of the wider fan base, are pissed at the metooing of some guy who's record is pretty much squeaky clean despite the defamation that has gone on this last month or so. Never mind the hilarity of Pensacon threatening all the attendees who wanted to stand by Vic.
Right now, they are just one of
two Cons this year with Vic featured as a guest, and they've chosen to ride on the fact thousands of people are watching this to make noise about it.
They get to play the good guys in this situation
as a convention. This will also likely have a good impact on the attendance and business as, again, it's just one of two cons currently with Vic to hand. And the fanclub
will travel to show their support and love. Which translates into more tickets, more hotel rooms booked, more attendees and more merch and other stuff bilked away. I am so far surprised that nobody's printing or offering to print a #IStandWithVic shirt with the promise of "some proceeds" going to the GFM or something.
The top level optics do not matter, Leigh's optics do not matter when he's now competently run a convention that manages to process 40,000+ attendees and god knows how many artists and guests.
When you're operating at that kind of scale you're always going to have a few people annoyed they don't get the instant platinum plate service when they have an issue because
jesus christ this thing is huge. It's a bit like complaining about Wal*Mart. Doesn't change it's a competently run business at scale that's making a very calculated bet.
I'm not expert in law, but weren't Vic's public records posted earlier in this thread proving there had never been any police reports filed on him?
Ya, this guy really is hilariously clean. Like never an assault, a speeding or parking ticket. Literally nothing.
