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Thorfinn Dub Voice Actor Mike Haimoto Accused of Domestic Abuse, Sexual Assault
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
English dub voice actor Mike Haimoto (Vinland Saga, Natsume's Book of Friends, Vermeil in Gold) was accused of domestic abuse and sexual assault by his former girlfriend Avery Smithhart (Made in Abyss: Dawn of the Deep Soul's Prushka, Land of the Lustrous' Cinnabar) in a 50-page document on Thursday. Smithhart's account details a three-year relationship with Haimoto where she claims that he isolated her from friends and family, dictated her appearance, made up extravagant stories about his past, spent her money for equipment, and in one instance sexually assaulted her after a party. Smithhart uploaded a Google Drive of documents and interactions last week. Haimoto has not publicly responded to the allegations and did not return ANN's request for comment.
Smithhart also wrote that Haimoto disparaged people on the autism spectrum. Smithhart added that this was after Haimoto knew that she suspected her own autism diagnosis. She stated the relationship ended in early 2022.
Smithhart wrote that during the relationship, she "lost an unhealthy amount of weight" and dropped to below 100 pounds for the first time in her adult life. She claims that she initially came to trust Haimoto after he lavished her with praise, gifts, and attention but after moving in together she said she witnessed a change in his behavior that included an aggressive demeanor, including throwing and breaking dinner plates.
"At the start of our relationship, he described his mother as his rock. He spoke of her sacrifice with tremendous admiration. He bragged about growing up in a majority-female household. He despised his father for what he did to his mother and declared himself a proud feminist. But, after seeing how he treated his mother and sister. The hatred that roiled off of him nauseated me. I began to fear for my life as I caught a glimpse into my future," Smithhart wrote. She detailed that later in the relationship, Haimoto expressed distaste when she would become emotional. "One moment I was everything he'd ever wanted and the next I was the most disgusting thing he'd ever seen. I wasn't allowed to cry in front of him or show what he deemed any 'negative' feelings. Feelings like anger, sadness, depression, anxiety, etc. At one point he said, 'Can't you cry somewhere else? Or maybe when I'm not here?'"
She also wrote that Haimoto presented multiple stories about his past and mental health, including that he had secretly worked in Intelligence for the Marine Corps and the CIA, had seen combat, and was discharged for disagreeing with a commanding officer. She says he told her he was experiencing a mental disorder similar to Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) and had a therapy team to help him. Smithhart concluded that all of the stories were false based on what she found as conflicting evidence.
"I hired a private investigator to resolve the Marines mystery once and for all. To no one's surprise my ex never served. Ever. He never even went to bootcamp. The supposed phone call he received that triggered his PTSD and multiple versions of himself? Never happened. Clutching his head and 'cycling' in front of me was all an act to scare me from questioning him. This also meant he couldn't receive treatment at the Veterans Hospital. The 'therapy team' didn't exist outside of a few visits to his original therapist. He wasn't seeing his therapist for combat trauma or a disorder similar to DID," Smithhart wrote. She added that Haimoto allegedly told her the 'cycling' was prompted by an alleged phone call from a former military comrade regarding a violent incident that supposedly occurred while Haimoto was enlisted.
In the Google Drive files, Smithhart included an edited screenshot that shows a request for Haimoto's military personnel files under his legal name, Michael Rudd. According to the uploaded image, no records under the name of Michael Rudd were on file at National Personnel Records Center at the time of her request. The National Personnel Records Center receives military records after an enlisted person is discharged, retired, or deceased. In alleged screenshots of text messages between Smithhart and Haimoto's mother dated February 22, 2022, Haimoto's mother appears to state, "Michael told Amanda everything he told you. The only thing is he told her CIA, not USMC." ANN has not independently verified the authenticity of the text messages.
In her account, she stated that Haimoto would 'cycle' through what she said he described as different versions of himself and sometimes wouldn't remember things he'd said or done. Smithhart wrote that she believes this was an elaborate ruse to maintain a relationship with another woman while they were allegedly engaged to be married. She wrote that he asked her to no longer tell anyone they were dating, that they were only friends, and not to wear her engagement ring in public as it could threaten his career.
In one instance, Smithhart claims that she and Haimoto went to a director's birthday party and, after returning home, Haimoto allegedly sexually assaulted her.
"[I wasn't] allowed to stop until he [was] satisfied. Until [I] assuage any residual "bad" feelings he might have."
Smithhart described Haimoto as a person who put up a positive demeanor in front of friends, coworkers, and her family, but would change around her.
"I remember him directing remote sessions laughing and smiling, effusive with his praise. He was patient with the actors he worked with. Speaking gently and calmly to them. Only to turn around and shout at me that I poured coffee too loudly," she wrote.
Files uploaded by Smithhart show disagreements over property following the alleged couple's separation. In screenshots of emails with Smithhart's therapist sent on September 21, 2022, Smithhart claims that Haimoto began "harassing" her sister and father and he claimed to have filed a police report with the Los Angeles Police Department over the items Smithhart removed from their previously shared living space. In the email screenshot, Smithhart wrote that she was unable to locate the police report and that she spoke to law enforcement who allegedly said, "if a report has truly been filed, it doesn't make sense why he's now reaching out to [your] family members at all as it doesn't concern them." In a screenshot of an email allegedly sent in September 2022 by Haimoto to the property's realtor and Smithhart, he said that he retained a lawyer and filed the report related to a recording booth, Mac computer, and an "antique media console." In the email, Haimoto allegedly offered to drop charges if the items were returned. Smithhart claimed that she provided a backup of the data from the personal computer on a hard drive left for Haimoto at the condo, and that she purchased the computer herself. ANN has not independently verified the authenticity of these communications.
Haimoto has worked as an assistant director on English dubs for Sentai Filmworks and is currently the voice of Thorfinn in Vinland Saga on the Crunchyroll dub.
Smithhart is the voice of Ange in Princess Principal, Rika Seo in Tsurune, and Rika Sonezaki in O Maidens in Your Savage Season.
ANN has reached out to Haimoto, Sentai Filmworks, and Crunchyroll for comment but did not receive a response by press time.
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