For years, Vic Mignogna has been a missing stair in the anime world, a subject of backchannel gossip and extraordinary precautions by women in his circle. He’s one of the most famous voice actors in the business, but when two of his colleagues — voice actors Jamie Marchi and Monica Rial — shared their own stories of harassment at Mignogna’s hands in February, the anime community erupted. Mignogna’s production companies dropped him; conventions rescinded their invitations.
Also working in the defendants’ favor was the fact that Beard had never actually handled a defamation case before — a fact which became abundantly clear when his first cease and desist letters went out. The letters claimed, among other things, that calling Mignogna a “piece of shit” was defamatory because “that is another name for feces.