I'm putting this up due to the fact that three members of Illuminated Text received this threat: Jenn, Katherine, and Beth.
Update: This email was received by those threatened. Let's hope that some people will begin to behave in a more adult fashion.From: Erinn Whiteside
To: Many
Sent: Wednesday, February 18, 2004 7:33 PM
Subject: 20th Century FoxTo All Concerned:
Please be advised that the e-mail that you received last week regarding Gina DeMarco and Karen Boyer was not authorized by Fox or anyone authorized to speak on behalf of Fox. The e-mail that was purportedly sent by Debra Meringa, Senior Counsel at Fox, was fraudulent and not authorized by Fox or Debra Meringa. Gina DeMarco and Karen Boyer are not employees of Fox, nor are they authorized to speak on behalf of Fox or any other Fox entity. Fox is currently investigating the situation and taking steps to prevent such illegal activity from occurring in the future. We have informed superherohype.com of the fraudulent nature of the postings purportedly made by Debra Meringa and have posted a message on the message board regarding this situation.
Please do not send any e-mails to Debra Meringa or attempt to contact her in any other manner. This e-mail account was used to send the e-mail message without the consent of Fox or Debra Meringa who has no connection to this situation.
Thank you for your cooperation and patience as we continue to investigate this situation.
Erinn Whiteside
Executive Director, Human Resources
20th Century FoxOver the last few months, various forums in the X-Men fandom have found themselves under attack by someone called Gina DeMarco (http://www.loganandmarie.com). While fandom trolling is not original or unsual, Ms DeMarco started making threats a month ago against people who called her out on her trolling behaviour.
What makes this situation unique is that Ms DeMarco was posting her threats from a Fox Studios server. The last few weeks have seen Ms DeMarco making threats of legal action by Fox Studios on behalf of herself and her friend Karen (http://www.postcardsfromtheedge.org).
Last week,at least a dozen people, including ourselves, received the email below. This was not the first threat of legal action they've made(reference: http://www.wolverineandrogue.com/ginakaren.html).
The email reads as follows:
All,
There have been many slanderous remarks made about our employee Gina DeMarco authored by yourselves. We would appreciate in the future that you refrain from posting or making any reference to her in a public manner. She is an employee of 20th Century Fox Studios and we take these slanderous remarks seriously.
Also refrain from making any derogatory comments about Karen [last name removed to protect privacy. This is a reference to the same Karen who received a copy of the email] as she is an affiliate of Bad Hat Harry Productions, which is a part of 20th Century Fox.
Let it be known that refusal to comply with our request will not only result in closure of your websites but also a lawsuit against you for trademark infringement and slander. Fox traditionally appreciates its fans but will protect our employees from them as well.
I hope I have made myself clear.
Sincerely,
Debra [last name removed]
Sr. Counsel
20th Century Fox StudiosThe continued threat of legal action prompted some of those threatened to contact Fox Studios. Not to mention suspicions were raised by the odds that Senior Legal Counsel might indeed know the difference between slander and libel.
Devil Doll (http://www.wolverineandrogue.com) relates the following:
On February 17th, I spoke with the Executive Director of Human Resources at 20th Century Fox regarding this and similar threats made against fans by and for Gina and Karen.
I was told the above email is completely fraudulent and in no way authorized by anyone at Fox with the power to make such statements. In addition, I was told that Gina and Karen have absolutely no connection at all to 20th Century Fox, and any claims to the contrary, or claims of enjoying Fox's legal protection, are fraudulent.
If you have received any emails from Debra, Gina, or Karen claiming that you could be subject to legal action by 20th Century Fox, you can ignore any such statements. They are a misrepresentation of Fox, and are not to be taken seriously.
Fox is investigating this situation and is collecting information regarding these claims. If you have received any emails from Debra, Gina, or Karen implying that Gina and/or Karen are affiliated with or protected by 20th Century Fox in any way, please contact me and I will tell you who to contact at Fox. Fox asks that you not reply to the "Debra" email address.
This is obviously a very serious situation, and one that Fox is not taking lightly. Several members of the Super Hero Hype message boards received similar emails, and the owner of SHH is also cooperating fully with Fox. You can read his statement on the matter here:
http://www.superherohype.com/forums/announcement.php?s=&forumid=198
I am hopeful that Fox's confirmation of the fraudulent nature of these threats will bring an end to this situation. I also hope that from here forward we will be allowed to enjoy fandom, rather than feeling harassed and threatened by a small number of people who appear to enjoy that sort of thing.
Devil Doll
We stand with Devil Doll and all the others threatened in this manner and hope that there will be no further attempts at harassment.