Well, well, well, how the turntables. First, a brief recap. Almost two months ago I did an article covering some sexual allegations against voice actor Daman Mills. Duncan, an anonymous victim, had prepared and submitted a statement with accompanying screenshots as evidence to the Anime News Network (ANN) regarding how Daman had wronged him and the situation gained enough traction to where Daman had to get his attorney in gear and address it with a cease and desist. Well a few days ago on April 27th ANN posted a follow-up report where Duncan admits that it was all just a prank bro, essentially. The allegations were false and the screenshots were doctored. He made the allegations simply because he was jealous of Daman’s bangin’ success in the industry and that Daman no longer spent much time with his friend group of the past. Duncan admits in hindsight it was a shitty thing to do and apologized. You can read the full document here. Below is an excerpt from Daman’s tweets that summarizes his feelings on the situation:
To those who have waited to hear from me directly, I am so grateful for your patience. The hard reality is that when you have a public platform, any statement you make — even in your own defense — can cause the harassment of your family, your friends, and even your fans. Instead, I have tried to trust in the truth to clear my name, and I am glad Duncan has shared that whole truth now. Despite the harm caused, it takes bravery to admit you've done something like this in such a public way, and I wish him no ill will.
Duncan and I never had a romantic or sexual relationship and the screenshots that damaged my reputation were fabricated. His accusations were entirely false. Those who know me know that non-consensual acts are against my character and core values.
With the recap out of the way… damn I’m good. Don’t call me a Reddit detective just yet baby, but I’m well on my way. In my original article I pointed out that things weren’t quite adding up in Duncan’s story, such as how his mom suspected he was being sexually abused but was totally chill about it and didn’t bother trying to seek help for her son. Additionally I mentioned that you can’t trust screenshots as evidence nowadays, ESPECIALLY screenshots that the owner themselves is like “oh yeah I edited these a bit for clarity bro, trust”. Alright, alright, enough sucking my own dick. All I’m saying is it feels nice to be correct for once. Old Snooze’s brain hasn’t completely turned to mush from all the anime and hentai yet.
That's right, Mia. That's why they pay me the big bucks.
So what did we learn from this ordeal? I hope we learned that conflicts between two humans really shouldn’t be painted as black and white. My original theory was that this was all revenge for Daman’s past statements that people should “believe all victims”, a statement that if the law actually followed, Daman would be sitting in jail right now. Apparently that doesn’t seem to be the case, but I hope Daman has learned his lesson that in practice that’s not such a grand idea, especially on the scary Internet where people can lie. On the flipside, don’t be an asshole and disregard anyone who alleges this level of shit against someone because “my favorite VA/streamer/person I like would NEVER” and instead do your best to stay objective, analyze the allegations, and hope for a clear cut ending like this case where all is resolved with proper legal counsel.
Cool? Cool. At the end of the day everything was wrapped up in a neat little bow. Now that’s something you don’t see everyday. Were you following this case? If so, were you suspicious of the allegations? Have you ever been accused of something you didn’t do? Lawyer up, object to every other sentence, and probably lose the case in the comments below!
