MILWAUKEE — Anime Milwaukee officials announced the cancellation of the burlesque show during the 2025 convention due to ongoing harassment. The show is one of the anime convention’s biggest events.
Director of Communications for Anime Milwaukee, Luke Marsden, tells WTMJ the harassment started out as complaints about the application process for the performers, which then escalated into criticism directed towards the event’s producer and the convention’s compensation practices for performers.
“The situation quickly evolved into harassment, targeting our social media platforms, the producer’s pages, the convention inbox, and even the convention chair’s personal Instagram inbox,” Marsden said.
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He added this harassment included death threats from accounts suspected to be fake. Marsden says much of the harassment seemed to be coming from a small group of burlesque performers and organizations from the upper Midwest.
“We determined that the severity and escalation of this behavior posed legitimate concerns for the producer, the performance, and the performers who would have participated,” he told WTMJ. “Consequently, we made the difficult decision to cancel this performance at our convention.”
Marsden says even after they canceled the event, online harassment continued across posts on the convention’s social media pages. Often from people with no prior engagement with the page.
He adds there are no current threats to the safety of the public or to those who wish to attend the convention.
@620wtmj Live from Anime MKE 2023! #anime #milwaukee #cosplay #mke #animemke #wisconsin #manga #gaming #tcg #convention ♬ Menu Screens (From "Super Smash Bros. Melee") – Arcade Player
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