Defaming For Revenge & Online Attention: @BewareCreepyVAs

Summary:  Two individuals, Peyton Waukau and Heather Vandagriff, have made a series of escalating false claims against me through their anonymous social media accounts ranging from general impropriety to criminal sexual misconduct, as well as harassing friends and conventions. This post provides context and avenues for the reader to explore further.

WHO: PEYTON WAUKAU, MY STALKER

Peyton Waukau (of De Pere, Wisconsin), has been cyber-stalking me and harassing conventions since 2019 in an effort to defame and “cancel” me.

WHY: PEYTON WAUKAU’S MOTIVE

Peyton Waukau and I had a casual, non-monogamous acquaintanceship that involved three one-night sexual encounters over the course of about a year, as well as around 20 text exchanges before her texts and behavior drastically changed. To clarify, while we met at a convention, she was not a fan of mine and did not display any parasocial characteristics.

After I discontinued contact with her, Peyton Waukau harassed my female friends on social media, attempting to find “dirt” on me. When they all blocked her, she launched an unsuccessful #metoo campaign against me on her anonymous Twitter account.

Around the same time, I was targeted by the #IStandWithVic group, consisting of fans of Vic Mignogna and alt-right accounts from Kiwi Farms and #gamergate. I tweeted that they should stop attacking Vic’s accusers and that it was possible to support survivors while withholding judgment of Vic. They ignored the nuance of my stance and attacked me instead.

After seeing the hate directed at me online, Peyton sought to capitalize on the attention. She rebranded her account as @BewareCreepyVAs and actively tried, though unsuccessfully, to recruit the #IStandWithVic crowd to join a #KickDC movement against me, but it never gained traction as there were no actual “victims” involved. Later she switched strategies and, instead, sought the attention of the #KickVic crowd.

(Public reaction to her initial campaign can be read here.)

Her ever-shifting false allegations against me ranged from calling me an alcoholic philanderer and “sex pest” to labeling me a serial groper, date-rapist and pedophile. As an example of her “kitchen sink” approach, she accused me of sexually accosting unwilling audience members on stage at my popular Notorious Zombie-Related Erotic Fanfic Show – a ludicrous claim for anyone familiar with the show (you can now enjoy it on YouTube).

Peyton’s personal Instagram account offers insight into her behavior, with occasional hashtags of my name associated with narcissism and abuse. (Do not engage with nor harass her. The link is provided for context.) Going back to 2019, she writes extensively about an intense, abusive, seemingly in-person three-year relationship with me – an impossibility easily discredited by the facts.

What is not public are two disturbing fictional letters written by her that are completely divorced from reality, as well as the text messages that chronicle her swift descent into mythomania following our brief involvement.

WHO: HEATHER VANDAGRIFF, AN EX-FAN

Heather Vandagriff (of Albuquerque, New Mexico) is a disgruntled former fan whom I commissioned in 2011-12 to write some first draft fanfics for my aforementioned Notorious Zombie-Related Erotic Fanfic Show. In 2021, Heather joined Peyton in her efforts and their actions crossed over into tortious interference territory.

WHY: HEATHER VANDAGRIFF’S MOTIVE

Heather Vandagriff, a fan and online acquaintance for many years, publicly defended me from Peyton’s false allegations in 2020. However, she abruptly turned against me and several other friends in April 2021 after a disagreement over the ownership of a “fans of DC Douglas” Discord server.

Heather then sought to hurt me personally and professionally by joining forces with Peyton online, posting out-of-context conversations, as well as creating fabricated “direct messages” from anonymous Twitter users to use on Peyton’s @BewarecreepyVAs account.

More recently, she has narrowed her harassment to lying on random convention posts that I drug and rape attendees at cons, likening me to “a Bill Cosby of conventions.”

Her Twitter handles are/were @lovesocriminal, @xhercoldhands and @burnside_fan, and Instagram accounts are @broken.birb and @ClubAlchemy505. A brief review of her posts will give insight into her temperament. These accounts are listed for context. Do not engage with nor harass her.

In addition, our last, honest, discourse on DM will give more context as to her state of mind. I encourage you to watch it.

(Pause the video for each pagination. Her online posts/actions acknowledged that her DMs are not private so I post it in that same spirit. Unlike Heather Vandagriff, I am including full context.)

Again, as with Peyton, I request that you do not engage with nor harass Heather. I no longer harbor any animosity towards her. Those close to our group were well aware of her pattern of turning on people and engaging in “scorched earth” attacks online. I simply did not foresee her doing the same to us.

THE FALLOUT

Peyton and Heather’s false tweets and posts are sometimes amplified by anonymous accounts, including their own sock-puppet accounts, #IStandWithVic/Kiwi Farms/#gamergate accounts, and those who are easily swayed by anonymously spread outrage.

The erosion of critical thinking and nuance on social media has enabled this spread of unverified/false allegations, which are occasionally parroted by people who have little actual knowledge of who I am.

I understand the seriousness of these allegations, which is why I have addressed them in this post. However, because the allegations are completely false and illogical in their breadth, the language I use may sometimes seem inflammatory – a natural reaction to being the target of such character assassination attempts an the damage already done.

ALLEGATIONS DEBUNKED

It’s tricky proving a negative. Especially when it’s one person’s words against another (or “he said / Anonymous Twitter account said”). In the court of public opinion, this requires critical thinking, time investment, and research on your part.

However, I have been a guest at over 90 conventions since 2010. Between convention organizers, verified handlers, and the numerous voice actors I’ve guested alongside, there are at least 300+ people who can attest to my professional conduct as a convention guest.

Most conventions that have booked me since this began have dismissed the allegations as baseless.

Some conventions have investigated further and determined the anonymous allegations to be completely without merit. One convention, overseen by a municipality in Florida, was required to have the municipality’s legal department examine the anonymous claims. They, too, found Peyton and Heather’s assertions to be unsubstantiated.* The con received clearance to book me (and we had a lovely time).

*[For legal purposes and to protect individuals from further harassment, referral info for these third parties, as well as supporting documents/private correspondence with Peyton, will not be published online. They are only strictly available to conventions upon request through my reps. This includes referral info for several people who have witnessed both Peyton Waukau and Heather Vandagriff at the various inflection points and who can corroborate their identity and motivations.]

To be clear: There are no police reports. There are no victims. There are no non–anonymous individuals claiming to be a victim. Only fabricated rumors spread by 2 people, their sock puppet accounts and the duped followers of those accounts.

“You have to go on the record. It has always been that way. I didn’t make it so. It didn’t make me happy to have to do so. Neither did it make others happy to have to do so. But to blindly and anonymously accuse, none of these high-level journalistic outlets would have ever let this be published before. So I have to ask “Why?” Why now? What is the true narrative they’re pushing?”
– Rose McGowan #MeToo activist.

This post is not a plea for you to accept my innocence simply because of what I’ve written. It’s a launching point for you to look deeper into these allegations and the people propagating them. In order to protect true victims of SV in their pursuit of justice it is incumbent upon society to call out those who abuse and usurp #metoo for their own illicit ends.          

LAWSUIT

I’ve been asked why I don’t sue them. The simple answer is money. I’m not wealthy, and my family obligations are my financial priority, not my social media reputation.

Additionally, Peyton and Heather have no assets and are often unemployed. If I sued, I would win a judgment, but I’d still lose money and time, and they could continue their illegal behavior under new anonymous accounts. This would force me to spend more money on another lawsuit, giving them the attention they crave, and costing me thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours. Also, the most distasteful result would be the garnishing of their future wages which would have me linked to them for many years into the future.

Ultimately, I want nothing to do with them. Apart from bookings for conventions, my personal life and career are unaffected by their anonymous online fabrications and ugliness. Those who truly know me are well aware of their motives, while those who get to know me soon see through their facade.

So… I’ll save my dimes for those I love, my kitties and tropical vacations.

THE CONVENTION EFFECT

The main effort of @BewareCreepyVAs is reputation assassination via conventions: When a videogame or anime con announces my attendance, Peyton & Heather will encourage their small follower base to swarm the con’s post in an effort to scare the convention into cancelling my appearance. (2023 update: they seem to be abating).

There are a few simple things that can mitigate the harassment and my representatives will explain in a short email.

Please know that I completely understand if you’d rather not deal with this social media drama at all. “Fear of association” is the weapon they hope to wield. Though please keep in mind: supporting true victims also means not allowing bad actors to undermine the movement. False accusations do tremendous damage to victims of actual assault.

A FINAL NOTE

If you’re upset about Peyton Waukau and Heather Vandagriff’s abusive online actions, please don’t vent at or attack them online. They thrive on the attention. Instead, transform your anger into support for true victims: RAIN.

If you know someone who has fallen for their defamation campaign, please send them this post so that they, hopefully, will research further and use critical thinking.

• • “… Truth will out…” – Shakespeare