The Creators Guild anime and gamer clothing and apparel shop has apparently decided to cancel meet and greets and withdraw badges at this year’s Anime Expo for cosplayer Mariah Mallad, better known in the cosplay community as Momokun.
The company was informed about Momokun’s behavior regarding sexual harassment, and originally the exhibitors were leery and asked for proof, and some of the cosplayers who were sexually harassed came forward to give their testimony.
Sexual harassment should not be dismissed. It is not easy to come forward but I have gained the courage to speak up. At AX last year, Momokun slapped by ass in front of a large crowd without my permission after I had just met her.
— Bunny Ayumi @ AX (@BunnyAyu) July 4, 2018
I usually keep my mouth shut but since I now realize I’m not alone I feel like I will say something. Mariah has also touched me w/o my permission when we first met at Otakon Vegas. She pulled my top down while in I was in cosplay & exposed my nipple in a bathroom full of people.
— kay bear @ anime expo! (@kayyybearxo) July 5, 2018
Another cosplayer shared her story, claiming that Momokun jammed a microphone up to her genitals while at a villa party without her consent.
I was nervous at first but I’m adding onto this conversation with my own experience. She did something very hurtful to me last year at Colossalcon. pic.twitter.com/PAIhMSsC7F
— Dangrrr [email protected] (@dangrrrdoll) July 5, 2018
Video footage of Momokun groping and touching other cosplayers without their consent was posted up last year on June 7th, 2017 by YouTuber Kurt Mayer.
The evidence was overwhelming enough for the Creators Guild to finally take heed of the testimonies and video footage to finally pull public support of Momokun.
On July 5th, 2018 the Creators Guild made the following statements on Twitter…
”Thank you everyone for your concerns about who or what represents the Creators Guild brand. We are very unaware of what happens outside of our booth since our preparations and traveling don’t give us much time to have the regular convention attendees experience. We hardly ever get to enjoy convention activities. We obviously want everyone to have an enjoyable time so if there’s anything or anyone that makes you feel comfortable we will try with the best of our abilities to remedy the situation.
“Though our experiences with Mariah have always been pleasant and professional, we have kindly asked her to cancel her meet and greet at our booth due to all the concerns that have been presented to us. We apologize for our delayed response to this situation since we are setting up for the convention for tomorrow morning.”
Some concerned attendees were wondering if the badge support would be revoked as well, and Creators Guild noted that Momokun informed them that she was returning the badge.
she already plans to return it. Sorry for the earlier, we had the wrong info about it.
— Creators Guild @ AX Booth #111 (@CreatorsGuildOC) July 5, 2018
According to various Twitter users, Momokun did respond to the allegations of sexual harassment, but it wasn’t through the typical Twitter channels since her accounts are suspended.
she made another account @omariahmallad but it also got suspended in march
— Gameboy.exe (@gameboydotexe) July 6, 2018
Twitter user Pixelbuster, however, explained that Momokun attempted to place the blame on ADHD.
I forgot to mention this but she has ADHD and is trying to use it as an excuse.
As someone who also has the same disability, I can tell you right now that it’s absolutely shameful.
— Pixelbuster @ AX (@Nitomatta) July 5, 2018
Apparently the groping and sexual harassment has been going on for quite some time, but most of the people on the receiving end kept quiet about it.
The drama managed to catch the attention of YouTuber Repzion, who did a fully detailed breakdown of the drama as well as covered some of the past drama that led up to the complaints about Momokun’s sexual harassment allegations.
It’s unclear if the media will pick up the story and if they do whether or not they will attempt to spin the story, which is what happened recently when ArenaNet fired two developers for publicly denigrating and being combative toward the Guild Wars 2 gaming community. However, for the time being there are a number of Anime Expo fans and convention attendees who are happy that the Momokun situation has been dealt with… for now.
(Thanks for the news tip Kyuryon)
