Anime giant Crunchyroll and Funimation allegedly opened his private mail, discarded his messages, and gave fan-made art and souvenirs to its employees for the past five years, according to a seasoned voice actor who came forward on social media.
On his personal X/Twitter account last Friday, ADR director and voice actor David Wald (Gajeel from Fairy Tail and Askeladd from Vinland Saga) expressed regret to his friends and fans, stating that he never received any of the letters sent to him through Funimation or Crunchyroll during the previous five years.
“I learned yesterday that Crunchyroll opened my private mail, threw away your letters, and passed out any included items to their staff,” Wald tweeted on October 25.
Wald’s post has received over 110,000 likes and 13,000 retweets at the time of writing. Wald tweeted that some stolen items had been returned to him, although they had been “found on the company giveaway table.” He said he doesn’t blame Crunchyroll employees for the incident because “they just walked by the company freebies table and thought something looked cool.”
“The employees are victims, unwillingly wrapped up in an illegal action ordered by systemically abusive management,” Wald wrote in a response to a fan. Wald’s response would reflect other concerns about the firm violating his privacy as a contractor by reportedly opening his mail.
“Me, thinking: ‘…Jeez, it’s a good thing I didn’t tell them about the gay discrimination. Or the medical discrimination. Or the union busting. Or the continuous culture of fear. or the hostile workplace environment, or…” Wald posted a separate tweet on Friday, citing the toxic job atmosphere.
It should be noted that the company was accused of union-busting in 2022 when fellow voice actor Kyle McCarley announced that he would not return to his role as Shigeo Kageyama in Mob Psycho 100 season three after Crunchyroll refused to negotiate a Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists union contract with him and the cast.
When questioned if this claim counts as mail fraud, Wald responded that he feels it is classed as mail theft. In terms of legal terminology, both mail theft and fraud are federal offenses in the United States. Mail theft is punishable by a $250,000 fine or up to five years in prison, per 18th U.S. Code § 1708. On the other hand, mail fraud is a federal offense in which someone uses the United States mail to scheme or defraud someone for financial advantage by making substantial misstatements or omissions. While their definitions are similar, the latter might result in a guilty party serving up to 20 years in jail, paying a $1 million fine, or both.
Understandably, fellow voice actors and fans chimed in, questioning why the anime studio would continue to mishandle Wald’s fan mail—and he got even more furious when he disclosed that no one at Crunchyroll had responded to any of his emails on the subject. As a result, fans flooded Crunchyroll’s social media posts with links to Wald’s tweets, requesting that they handle the problem.
“Friends, I deeply appreciate your support and encouragement in my current circumstances, and I identify with your anger. To the press who have reached out, know that I would love to speak with you, but I have several meetings ahead of me before I can do so,” Wald tweeted on October 26. “Thank you all.”
Crunchyroll released an official statement:
“Anime fans have a special connection with dub voice talent and that emotional expression is important in fueling more love of anime content. We are currently investigating the matter regarding the allegation of undelivered fan mail to a voice actor,” Crunchyroll wrote. “We respect the privacy of all of our voice actors and do not intentionally open mail or packages not intended for Crunchyroll. Any fan mail should be sent directly to talent and their management.”
While the matter is still complicated and under investigation, Wald stated on Twitter that he intends to set up a PO box so that admirers can mail him artwork and letters in the future.
What do you think of this situation? Do you think the response is good?
