Roiland’s former fans and dates described disturbing interactions with the animator, with many playing out over texts. One woman said the ‘Rick and Morty’ creator sexually assaulted her, another said she was left ‘traumatized.’ (Warning: This article contains explicit language.)

In the years following the 2013 debut of Adult Swim’s cartoon phenomenon “Rick and Morty,” its star and co-creator Justin Roiland became a titan of the animation and video game industry and a rock star of youth counterculture. His artistic style and caricatures became ubiquitous in cannabis culture, and his career expanded into producing other animated series, creating NFTs and leading a virtual reality gaming studio. In 2017, a “Rick and Morty” collaboration with McDonald’s led to such a viral frenzy that police had to be called to at least two locations.

But as he partied with Los Angeles’ superstars and traveled the country for conventions, he also found he could use his fame to strike up conversations and develop relationships with young fans, including some who were underage. This is according to interviews with 11 women and nonbinary people who shared thousands of messages with Roiland from 2013 to 2022 — with nine of the people saying he turned the exchanges sexual. Of those nine people, three said they were 16 when they started talking to Roiland. To corroborate their stories, the 11 women and nonbinary people also shared pictures, videos, social media posts, emails, and plane ticket and Uber receipts with NBC News.

Warning: Lengthy and graphic details

    • Pillarist@lemmy.worldEnglish
      37·
      1 year ago

      A person who otherwise wouldn’t be noticed suddenly getting attention they never received thrown at them can easily abuse it if they don’t control their behavior with a moral compass, which is becoming less and less a priority. When something feels good, many indulge. When you overindulge, you justify. When you get good at justifying, you can make anything okay in your head. If you don’t have a line drawn, it’s wild how far people will go… he went way too far and he should endure the consequences.

      • iegod@lemm.ee
        5·
        1 year ago

        I contend it’s not that it’s less of a priority but rather we’re (as a society) getting better at collecting evidence, identifying un aceptable behaviour, and taking people seriously when they present an accusation. I firmly believe humans have done and do worse all the time.

        • Pillarist@lemmy.worldEnglish
          3·
          1 year ago

          I agree, actually. It’s actually unreasonable to think people were any better or worse before, there’s always good and bad… The difference is what’s accepted by the rest of us. Great response, I appreciate it!

        • bitsplease@lemmy.ml
          19·
          1 year ago

          Which there’s absolutely nothing wrong with, provided both parties are over 18

          No one is upset that he fucked fans, there upset that he at least tried to fuck underaged fans.

          Frankly if you don’t see a difference, I’m scared for you

          • DarthBueller@lemmy.world
            6·
            1 year ago

            Plenty of folks arguing now that literally any imbalance of power is unacceptable – I’ve heard people argue that it is also not time-limited. So rich people can’t fuck poor people, a professor can’t ever fuck a former student even if they meet years later at a conference, and don’t even think about workplace romance ever again if you are talking about college educated folks. The insane rules mean that you’re only allowed to date someone precisely the same as you in every way. These are the same cis het allies that helped alienate and target the trans community through absolute absurdity.