This week, a new movie about Garfield hits German theaters. However, the premiere is now overshadowed by allegations against a streamer. What Sony has to say about it can be found here.
What allegations are there? For several days now, allegations against the streamer Anissa “Anni The Duck” Baddour have been spreading on the internet. In summary, she is accused by various sources of only presenting herself nicely in public, while in real life, she is said to be an egomaniacal, toxic person who treats her fellow humans poorly and hates her fans.
- The streamer Mowky commented on her former friendship with Anni, which had caused her a lot of suffering. She claims to have been manipulated and used, and warns fans that they do not know what kind of person they are “admiring”.
- On Twitch, streamer Antonia “Reved” Staab also spoke up and talked about her previous relationship with Anni, describing it as the “darkest time” in her life. She claims it affected her emotionally so much that she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder with muscle cramps and chronic headaches.
- Both streamers also accuse Anni of having mistreated her cats and treated them like toys. There are said to be videos on the internet that confirm these allegations, and in them, the streamer can also be heard referring to her cats as “
dirty pieces of shit
“.
What does this have to do with Garfield? The new film about the iconic orange cat is now overshadowed by the allegations against Anni. In it, the streamer provided the voice for a supporting role. The film is set to be released in German theaters on May 9, 2024.
Especially the recent allegations of mistreatment of her cats are not exactly good publicity for a film about a famous cat. Many viewers are now demanding a response to this situation. “If Anni is not removed from the film, 50-60% fewer people will watch it in Germany, I hope you are aware of that,” expresses a user their opinion under a post by Sony on Instagram.
Overall, many users in their comments express that they will not watch the movie because of Anni now. Other comments call for Sony to respond. After all, they could not have known about her behavior at the time of the voice recording. “I really feel sorry for the other voice actors that the scandal regarding Anni has just now come to the forefront [sic],” says another comment.
How is Sony reacting now? In the Instagram post, Sony has now responded to the situation. However, they have not said much about it yet. The post states:
We are closely monitoring the recent allegations against Anni and take them very seriously. We are currently in close communication with the management and expect an official statement.
sonypictures.de on Instagram
When this official statement is expected to be made public is still unknown. There is also no statement yet regarding whether the film will still release with Anni in her role in theaters. Some viewers wish that the parts with her be removed or replaced.
Whether Sony will take this route and thus have to postpone the premiere or whether they will react differently to the situation remains to be seen. On the other hand, Sony must expect that some viewers may boycott the film. Many influencers, however, have now decided to boycott a large event: Influencers want to boycott gamescom because they can no longer get in for free – Gronkh shakes his head
