Strangely, it does not explicitly say whether that's because she or they cancelled her appearance, or because she never was attending in the first place and the convention site was, um, "incorrect".

[ edited by theonetruebix on 2008-10-29 21:59 ]

The One True b!X | October 29, 21:59 CET

The organiser has announced it on their forum now, with the following wording... "We are sorry to inform you all that Robia LaMorte has decided not to attend this event."

RachVG | October 29, 22:05 CET

I just came across this via her website. Has this been posted before? It's so bizarre.

sigh..

MattK | October 30, 02:00 CET

Someone in the know posted over on the Bronze:Beta "that she's not appearing, was never asked to appear, they're using her name and image without her blessing, etc.

Robia doesn't do cons anymore. She quit them about the same time she got out of the acting biz; she focuses on her Christian ministry now.

And Christopher - you're right, there's a lot of them out there that do put the "con" in convention, these guys appear to be on that list. Robia's tried contacting them to get her name removed; the say they will but never do (her lawyer will be contacting them today). In the meantime, I tried posting to their forums (quite nicely, I recognized that I was on their boards) about Robia's non-participation - they promptly deleted me. An honest error is one thing; deleting me for trying to correct it, that's being downright deceitful, and it's sad that they're doing it."

So...that should answer some questions. Frankly, I was surprised to see her name as a guest, because, as I said in the earlier thread when she was announced, I'd been told pretty much the same thing when I was trying to put my convention together - she doesn't like doing them.

I wonder why convention holders do that? Announce someone they don't have. This has happened before - Someone announced they had Tony as a guest w/out asking him. He only found out because some fans at a con he was scheduled to attend mentioned it to him, and he was surprised to hear he was supposed to be at the other one. He ended up going to that convention...for his fans. When the con holders thanked him for coming, he told them to "Crawl back under your rock. I'm not here for you, I'm here for my fans." Class act, that man.

ShadowQuest | October 30, 05:24 CET

That's the version what I heard.

Simon | October 30, 07:44 CET

Not going to try and defend Showmasters/Massive Events because I obviously don't know the full story, only they do, but I do feel the need to say that I don't see them as one of the bad bunch of organisers. When they run events, they aren't a "con", and they certainly aren't "con artists". Misguided possibly, and if they have indeed announced Robia when she had no intention of attending then that's obviously worrying, but I've been to their events and they obviously do their best. The organisers are nice guys and obviously fans themselves, which has in the past tripped them up a bit because they want to please fellow fans. I just feel that jumping to the conclusion that they must be con artists is a bit strong for a first real offence.

RachVG | October 30, 10:02 CET

I have to agree with Rach - sure Showmasters/Massive Events have their share of cancellations but they've also managed to get some exceptional guests to their shows. Yes, the wording is somewhat odd and is bound to get people talking but (no offence to Robia) if they were going to make a "false" announcement to drum up sales I would expect them to choose a slightly bigger name!

A few of us attended a Heroes convention in March, which was the first event run by Massive Events. The first day didn't go so well from an organisational point of view but the organisers listened to complaints/suggestions and turned things around on the Sunday. And they put a lot of effort into their events. Things don't always go to plan (the Writers Strike decimated their Lost convention) but they do try.

Again, as mentioned above, we don't know the full story. So let's not jump to conclusions just yet.

Hilary | October 30, 10:18 CET

Don't want to defend anyone here, as I have no clue what went on, but I would like to echo the comments that I don't think Massive Events are "con-men". They have been naive in the past, and sometimes they jump the gun on saying things, but their hearts seem to be in the right place.

I would hope that they had some positive indication from Robia's people to make the announcement, even if she vetoed it once it came to her attention. If not, that is very worrying!

Bob D | October 30, 11:23 CET

Frankly, I was surprised to see her name as a guest, because, as I said in the earlier thread when she was announced, I'd been told pretty much the same thing when I was trying to put my convention together - she doesn't like doing them.

She sure hid it well. She was at Toronto SFX in 2004 and was extremely gracious in the midst of organisational chaos. She was at a table by herself with no con staff to help her and a hand-made sign with her name she made herself because one hadn't been provided for her when I first saw her on the Friday afternoon.

I asked her why she didn't have someone to help with selling the photos and handling the money and she said that the organisers had other things to worry about because Patrick Stewart was unable to make it as he was in the hospital, so it was no big thing. (I thought it was though, so my friend and I fetched a volunteer who was standing around doing nothing to sit at her table and help.)

She also did an unscheduled joint Q & A with a very nervous Mercedes MacNab, who apparently wasn't as comfortable with that sort of thing as Robia.

I have to admit that I almost didn't approach her or go to her Q & A because I had heard that she used cons to advocate for her ministry, but that wasn't the case in Toronto anyway. She only discussed it with people who asked her about it first, and then only in private conversation.

Ruadh | October 30, 14:33 CET

I just came across this via her website. Has this been posted before? It's so bizarre.

Not really. Seems like a pretty standard Christian testimony to me. Good on her.

Mort | October 30, 18:24 CET

"This is incorrect." Hmmm. It was correct at the time.

"This is incorrect" implies many things, most of them underhand, which I do not believe for a second.

"This is incorrect" is very lazy and accusatory, how about "This has now changed"?

Personally, I suspect Christians and a Halloween event don't mix (see the "Harry Potter is evil" brigade).

LRitchie | October 31, 13:06 CET

What a pity.

Of course I don't know what happened between her and the convention organizers. And I never went to one of their other events (though some of my friends did). But regarding Robia and cons, she at least did them until a short while ago, since I met her at the Slayercruise.

kurna | November 01, 07:36 CET

LRitchie, thank you for making your first and last post here.

Simon | November 01, 12:59 CET

So... LRitchie was banned for making a fair point about the way the title sounds? Why?

RachVG | November 01, 15:46 CET

Err, "This is incorrect" appears in the blurb as written by Simon, not the title. I don't get the kerfuffle personally, as statements go it's entirely accurate (the fact "Robia Lamorte will be a guest at Hallowhedon" now no longer matches the state of the world, in a word it's incorrect - nothing else is implied by it, only what the reader sees).

Saje | November 01, 16:21 CET

A bit harsh?



I have to agree. If it was a main cast name announced and then canceled in a similar manner, I'd think there was something fishy about it but, I cant imagine many people rushing to book tickets for an event solely for Robia. I've also heard on the grapevine that the organisers had sent a deposit, so it seems like the booking was believed to be genuine on their part, and to be honest, even the best of us can make mistakes.

But then perhaps I just prefer to be someone who believes the best in people, rather than the worst, until there is some proof.

Jaynesgirl | November 01, 17:33 CET

If people want to discuss Whedonesque's policies, I'd more than happy to talk about it via email as per our rules.

Simon | November 01, 17:43 CET

The organisers, in response to many people saying they doubted her booking, have posted the details of the booking and a copy of her signed contract on their forums.

Bob D | November 10, 12:30 CET