Anime Matsuri, Cathy Cat and Ask Japanese: Censorship and Sexual Harassment with a Sprinkle of Failure?

This Article was originally cross posted to our old wordpress site January 7th, 2018

By Merlin Of StoryPublished 6 months ago • 15 min read

It seems 2018 has already uncovered more unrest in the community as known Youtuber Scarfing Scarves has brought attention to Anime Matsuri’s John Leigh and their affiliates for proactively taking part in and supporting Sexual Harassment based on claims made back in 2015.

Sexual Harassment History

On June 29th, 2015 the Houston Press covered a story explaining that Leigh had approached and had communications with young women that were sexual in nature or unprofessional. I would have to say I agree with the piece as the screen captures that are floating around the internet only further add to this. One Statement recounted an incident with Leigh,

Our first meeting in person was to shoot promo pictures for AM15 [Anime Matsuri 2015], he visited Europe and invited me to travel with him and his family to London and have a trip to Disneyland Paris (all expenses paid). I declined the Disneyland trip (even though I would love to go there again, word [sic] was more important) and paid for my own trip and stay to London. The first evening I had dinner together with John and his friend, there the sexual jokes and comments started to increase. Here he also talked a lot about someone from [REDACTED] sucking his dick for favors and to get models in the AM show to wear their wigs and disgusting stories like that. But when we had a day together with his wife and kids, he suddenly kept quiet. On this trip the idea of hosting an event in Germany was started. A couple months later he invited me on a trip to Japan, of course, also all expenses paid. I didn’t go with him, and he continued to use that against me for the next months to try and make me feel bad.

It doesn’t get better from there in the slightest. Leigh has made the same advancements on other people even going so far as to ask for nude photos from one girl.Clearly the young woman here was only trying to talk business and Leigh took that as an opportunity to make it clear that he had ulterior motives, and of course this only gets worse. He sounds like he’s bullying another model into sharing a bed with him. If he wasn’t planning to do something of a sinister nature to the model then why would he have such an attitude or sound so aggravated? Sexual Harassment isn’t a grey area, bullying you into doing something you don’t want to do using fear mongering tactics or even a tone like this falls right into sexual harassment parameters.

According to GoBoiano(link no longer working) there were a number of Japanese Lolita guests that were being extremely abused. Performance and handling conditions caused them not only to roast in their Pettie coats but to also go without food. They also suffered sexual harassment from Leigh and others while working the Convention under less than satisfactory working conditions. It wasn’t until the performers reached out to the Kawaii Ambassadors using line, a popular texting app in Japan, as they were not only frustrated but likely very dehydrated and hungry. This progressed to the point where a petition to “Revoke the Kawaii Ambassador titles of John and Deneice Leigh” was created.

For those who aren’t aware John Leigh also has a wife and family while he’s been doingthis to numerous girls andleigh reports 1 women. In one statement shes even mentioned as a way to get his wife to do something about his actions when another individual in the lolita community came forward.

A few years ago I was asked by John to do a “photoshoot” having some modeling experience with comic books, I figured it would be fun! However when I arrived to the scene, PZ I was informed it was a video, not a photoshoot as I kept asking. A video, and I was asked if I could preform sexual (oral) Acts on a male and it be recorded. It was to be seen according to John as humor. But the fact the details were kept from me the entire time before my physical arrival to the location made me upset. Added with the amount of attempted influence to sway me to do such actions regardless of what society or what my parents will think only angered me. I kept putting my foot down despite the begging and guilt trips. I grew angry and upset, I fought back and I was in tears the end of that night. There were people that saw me upset, and asked if I was okay. There were people I messaged right away about the incident and for that night, I did not feel like a person but a possible pawn.

while this is only a handful of victims its safe to say Leigh is not safe to be around to say the least. some of his other victims that have come forward are, or were at the time, under the age of consent. Making Leigh an alleged Pedophile as there have been no official trials or convictions as of this date. In the telling of one Sixteen year old girl at the now closed Arcade he and his wife ran Leigh reportedly “sit next to me an flirt.” even asking for her number. She initially thought nothing of it as she had volunteered at Aime Matsuri before she received a text from him asking “When are we having sex?”. She brought this to his wife Deneice R Leigh(Pham) she responded “There’s a problem I have about this. You should have said it to him that you were uncomfortable and to stop. Tell someone to do something about it. Isn’t that what we’re all taught to do?” The problem is she did go to someone, and that someone is Deneice. A sixteen year old girl isn’t going to tell a forty year old man she’s not comfortable because he is an authority figure, she went to her, another authority figure for help. Only to be shut down and turned away so she could defend him instead of setting her husband strait. Deneice is an enabler for allowing her husband, alleged pedophile, John Leigh continue his actions.

Business

John Leigh and his wife have also had a bit of a run in or two with business. Not only do the own Anime Matsuri but they own Shop in Wonderland as well as the now defunct Planet Zero Arcade.

Planet Zero Arcade has reviews dating back to 2008 where a common issue popping up was the odd hours of operation and the lack of care for the game machines. One review was rather sarcastic saying,

I love the concept of imported Japanese arcade games as well as the anime paraphernalia. This place had it all…eons ago…

Their old location was a bit cramped, cluttered and overwhelmed with games…but games that didn’t work. Their new location is larger, cleaner and spacious. There are still some games, but again, they don’t work. We use to come every weekend, but it started becoming repetitious that their games were always out of order and weren’t fixed for months.

Then there was the problem where you needed a card to play certain games that you wanted. Once you loaded that card, you’d swipe it, but the game wouldn’t start. FABULOUS! Not to mention, buttons wouldn’t work. So you just wasted a good amount of coins on a game that semi-worked.
I really hated having to return to this place, only to find out my favorite games were still out of order from a year ago. It also sucks when you want to play a two player game with a friend and only one part of the console works. AWESOME!

Until they post something on their facebook account reassuring that their games are all working and up to par, I won’t be back here anytime soon. I wouldn’t even recommend this to anyone.
It’s very disappointing when you drive an hour away from home only to find out stuff doesn’t work. They also want to pick up the phone when folks call during their “hours of operation.”

another review went on to say the hours were inconsistent and that there was a lack of professionalism from staff,

I only gave it 1 Star. Although I do enjoy coming here and since I enjoy anime and arcade, The professionalism is extremely lacking. Sure some may think “Its an arcade who wants to be professional?” yes true, but your a business before that. You have a sign stating your hours of operations, yet you never follow through with them and only open when you feel like it? Some of us live far and drive. Who would waste gas to go to a closed store? Is that sign is only for decoration. If so take that crap down. This place also isn’t that large. Only about 20 games max which isn’t too bad but whats more annoying is that the space is so small that people take up spaces for games they aren’t even playing to watch a different game. The price here is way better than Dave & Dusters, The maintenance of the machines are a little iffy. The button on the DDR has been jammed for a very long time for the right side.

Following reveiws that were made in a negative light the arcade closed after being open for six and a half years John’s wife putting out a letter stating the following,

Dear friends, fans, and colleagues,

First, I apologize for not being able to make any official statements until now. With confusion by us in change of property management, negotiations, legal battles, personal struggles and tough decisions, it is an understatement when I say it has been a roller coaster for the past few weeks.
As I reminisce on the years that Planet Zero has been opened, I feel blessed for what I have been a part of. John aka ‘Emotiongear’ and I are proud of what we’ve accomplished with PZ and for so many communities of Houston (and in the U.S.) in such a short run. We brought games that people around here have never seen before. We’ve brought guests from around the world. We’ve open the doors for the gaming community with SBO spots, taking some of the best players of the U.S. to compete in Japan against other bests in other counties. We’ve brought so many talents, musicians, artists, models, directors, and even collaborated with companies we have never dreamt we would be working with.
In many ways, we are pioneers, trying to build a center for gamers, anime & cosplay fans, car enthusiasts, business opportunists, and in general, geeks like ourselves, to gather and simply have fun. We didn’t realize what we were up against sometimes, trying to please so many communities. We have dealt with a lot of criticism and even heartache. I guess that’s the risk you take when you have a vision and want to take it to the next level.

The recent article ‘The Rise and Collapse of Yoshinori Ono”, about Capcom’s Street Fighter creative director’s struggles, I can relate.

Ono: “I naturally like interacting with people, talking, laughing, I enjoy Twitter. People always write to me saying ‘Capcom sucks’ or ‘Ono sucks’ and so on. But there’s a positive in that criticism because it means that people care and are interested in what I am doing.”
After many years of stress and pressure from the legendary Capcom franchise, Ono physically collapsed in his home. Rumors spread like fire but he’s still around.
Yes, there’s a price for success or popularity. You will get your fans, loyal ones even, and you’ll get people who simply want to see you miserable and gone. It’s like bullying. Critics with no merit are the bullies, and PZ has had our share of them. To overcome it, you must face your fears, stand up with integrity, and move forward.

So my dear friends, fans, and even my rivals, it is bittersweet for me to announce that Planet Zero Anime Center will permanently close after 6.5 years of business.
It is difficult for us to sustain a business like Planet Zero that requires so much of our time and effort: opening 6 days a week, planning events, hosting parties, tournaments, etc. Moreover, Planet Zero has taken time away from our family that is growing, organizing the largest anime convention in Houston, and plans of building new ventures.

As Yoshinori Ono puts it:
“My aim is to construct a universal community.”

We will move on, continue our dream to create awareness of Japanese culture and its related arts with Anime Matsuri convention. I hope Planet Zero has brought you good times. I hope these memorable moments will continue to flourish in our next chapter. And I hope you will continue to support us in our future endeavors.

Respectfully yours,

Deneice Leigh

What Deneice fails to mention here is the truth behind why Planet Zero had closed. It wasn’t due to negative reviews alone, or the fact that these people who had every right to be upset with the state of the machines, hours of operation, and the customer service that she so blatantly calls bullies. Instead it is due to the building they were leasing changing the locks as they had not paid the lease. Planet Zero Arcade Center Owed the building owner $85,785.84 that is no small amount of money. Negligence isn’t due to bullying, Negligence falls on the owners part as it was a failure to comply with a written leasing agreement.

Prior to this there were also a number of complaints of people being disqualified from many of the fighting game tournaments going on at PZ simply because they were not liked by Deneice or John, as well as a number of complaints going around the Houston community of the roster being rigged. One user on the Fighting League forms said,

As outrageous as the stories sound from AirBrushKing, they were all true.
Kind of sad how this arcade actually separated the Houston scene, creating a line for those who played at PZ, and those who didn’t.

It’s always sad to hear an Arcade is closing for good, but seeing this one shut down is the best thing to happen in the Houston scene. Seriously, I can only see good things coming from this. How they got a spot to run Evo seeding is beyond me (actually, we all know why, but it’s whatever).

– It cost $10 to enter this tournament, and it says 14 people entered the event. Why did I only get 60 dollars?
– Oh, they normally lie about the amount of people they get in the results thread.
– WTF?
– Yeah. My name is on there, but I didn’t enter.
– The guy next to me kept talking down on UFO, he didn’t leave me alone.
– Yeah. It’s the reputation. The brackets were rigged against you so you couldn’t make it to finals.
– But I won.
– They didn’t expect that. There’s talk of having you banned because of the win streak you made. They said it was bad for business.
– Damn, some Mafia shit going down over there.

All common concerns for the Houston gaming community that have been mentioned time an time again. This aside from some of the community members making mention of potentially criminal behaviors going on within the arcade. But none would elaborate as to the behavior they were referencing.

This also now brings some attention to just how Anime Matsuri became successful. After loosing Planet Zero one would assume that they would not be able to take out loans but this was not the case. They were able to take out loans from friends and even hire guests that they never paid outright. They borrowed a large sum of money from Micheal Udompongsuk amounting to just nearly $100,000 over the course of three years. A contract was signed to pay the money back but they never fulfilled their end of the contract and to this day still has not paid Udompongsuk back. As result of borrowing money from Udompongsuk and never paying him back Udompongsuk resigned from his position at Anime Matsuri only to have the Leighs complain about “feeling betrayed” and having to reportedly “spend months cleaning up the mess” when the resignation letter was leaked.

The Leighs also owe money to a number of other people. One being a Mario Londono, Londono sued upwards of $10,000 due to contracting him for video production services and never receiving payment. It can only be assumed that the total included the legal fees and interest on the bill. They had also failed to pay the George R Brown for hosting them in 2007 which was confirmed by the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, Anime Matsuri was not welcome back until the balance was finally paid in 2013 according to various sources. A Security vendor that worked for Anime Matsuri, R.G.G. Services, Inc. , was not paid $10,000 in due wages for facilitating security to the convention at the Crown Plaza Houston Hotel. It is currently unclear if the balance has been paid as of present.

Also at Delta H Con in 2012 the Leighs had send a mob of people from their festival where Spade had preformed to Delta’s registration tables. Why? Because the Leighs had stated that if those that attended the festival would get free entry to Delta H Con despite no agreement being struck with the event’s organizers. There was a mass of at least two hundred attendees that were irate that they could not get free entry. Thankfully the organizers worked with them by offering a discount and I can not fault them for not honoring what the Leighs had promised as it would have cost the small con a lot of much needed revenue. It almost looks like a way of getting back at Delta for not agreeing to a deal with them to help cover costs to bring Spade in, in the first place.

The Leighs have used popular shows and artists to help take attention away from their multiple digressions. Ask Japanese being one of them Where the host, Cathy Cat, is a long time friend of the Leigh’s even promoting their store, Shop in Wonderland, from time to time.

Censorship

In recent news Scarfing Scarves came out pointing out that the Leighs had a particularly shady history. Not only did she mention that the Leighs owed significant amounts of money to past partners but also mentioned that companies and people with large followings were supporting the Leighs and promoting Anime Matsuri. Two of them being Ask Japanese and Cathy Cat, who both, for a number of years, has supported and promoted Anime Matsuri despite claims and accounts from a large number of girls and women attesting to the inappropriate behaviors of John Leigh. Scarfing Scarves ran into a number of issues where Ask Japanese made fraudulent copyright claims against her videos that used none of their content. These copyright claims often result in the removal of a video, demonetization and, in rare occasions, the shut down of a channel. This was not an accident made by the algorithm, the Youtube algorithm covers things like music or even copied video content it would immediately take it down rather than come after there was a specific amount of interest shown in the video. Upon combating the claim Scarfing Scarves had her videos restored and just in case had them posted to facebook.

Now the Leighs have threatened her with a baseless cease and desist. While this is frightening to many people its certainly something to behold as the terms for a defamation or slander lawsuit would have to be information that simply wasn’t true. The problem is that all of the information Scarfing Scarves put out is all public knowledge. She was simple using her fan base as a way to bring attention to their wrong doings in the convention and lolita communities. Further more the Lawyer they went with, Vivian Vy Nguyen, specializes in ” Business and Family court” when there are already a total of five defamation based lawyers in Houston Texas. Why would you want to go to a lawyer that does not specialize in defamation and harassment lawsuits for a defamation and harassment lawsuit?

I did reach out to Anime Matsuri and Scarfing Scarves for comment, while Anime Matsuri did not respond Scarfing Scarves did. I asked if she would be willing to issue a statement and she did leave me with a comment,

I would say of my videos pertaining to this situation, that they are meant to protect this community from the types of people who think they can trample all over us. The cease and desist is an effort to tape our mouths shut, and this type of bullying tactic is not the type of behavior that should be acceptable for someone who thinks to be an active representative of this fashion.

I could not agree more with her. The Leighs should be held accountable for their actions and the court of public opinion should make their decision known.

That being said I hope everyone makes the right decision in where they place their support.