A veteran voice actor came forward on social media claiming anime juggernaut Crunchyroll allegedly opened his private mail, threw away his letters, and distributed fan-made trinkets and art among its staff for the last five years.
Last Friday, ADR director and voice actor David Wald (Gajeel from Fairy Tail and Askeladd from Vinland Saga) apologized to his friends and fans on his personal X/Twitter account revealing that any and all letters addressed to him via Funimation or Crunchyroll over the past five years never made their way to him.
“I learned yesterday that Crunchyroll opened my private mail, threw away your letters, and passed out any included items to their staff,” Wald wrote on October 25.
Dear friends: if you sent me anything care of Funimation or Crunchyroll in the last 5 years, I apologize, I didn’t get it. I learned yesterday that @Crunchyroll opened my private mail, threw away your letters, and passed out any included items to their staff.
— David Wald (@DavidWald_VA) October 25, 2024
As of time of writing, Wald’s post had over 110,000 likes and 13,000 retweets. While Wald states some of the stolen items were returned to him, he said they were “found on the company giveaway table.” He went on to add that he believes that Crunchyroll employees aren’t to blame for the situation 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 reply to a fan. Wald’s reply would echo other fears toward the company invading his privacy as a contractor by allegedly opening up 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 wrote in a separate Friday tweet.
It should be noted that the company was accused of union-busting back in 2022, when fellow voice actor Kyle McCarley announced he wouldn’t reprise 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.
Dear fellow workers at @Crunchyroll– below is a photo of the complete contents of one of the packages addressed to me that was opened and distributed to employees. If you ended up in possession of any of it, I would very much like it returned to me. pic.twitter.com/H8Dm8Resf4
— David Wald (@DavidWald_VA) October 25, 2024
When asked whether this accusation qualifies as mail fraud, Wald replied saying he believes it classified as mail theft. In terms of the legalese of the situation, both mail theft and fraud are federal crimes in the United States. Those found guilty of mail theft could face the possibility of a $250,000 fine or imprisonment for up to five years, according to the 18th U.S. Code § 1708. Mail fraud, on the other hand, is defined as a federal crime wherein someone uses the U.S. mail with the intention of scheming or defrauding someone for financial gain through material misstatements or omissions. While their definitions are similar, the latter could see a guilty party imprisoned for up to 20 years, a $1,000,000 fine, or both.
Understandably, fellow voice actors and fans sounded off in his replies questioning why the anime company would continuously mishandle Wald’s fan mail—and got even more heated when he revealed that no one at Crunchyroll had replied to any of his emails on the matter. This, in turn, led fans to flood Crunchyroll’s social media posts with links to Wald’s tweets asking if they would address the situation.
Too true. Except, now that I think of it, I’d say most companies defend their products with a lot of enthusiasm. We’re staplers, We’re post-it notes. We’re fragile, but we’re replaceable. We’re office supplies.
— David Wald (@DavidWald_VA) October 27, 2024
“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 wrote in an October 26 tweet. “Thank you all.”
In an October 26 email, Crunchyroll provided a comment to io9 about Wald’s accusation, saying it is investigating the matter.
“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 in its reply. “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 situation remains delicate and under investigation, Wald said on Twitter he plans on setting up a PO box so fans can send any artwork and letters to him directly in the future.
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