Rick & Morty Insiders Expose Justin Roiland's Inappropriate Behavior in Scathing Report
Even the biggest empires can fall, and animation fans saw as much happen firsthand this year. After all, Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland has seen his brand implode in the past few weeks in light of domestic abuse allegations. Not long ago, court documents confirmed the writer-actor was facing felony charges for an incident in 2020, and Roiland has been dropped by all of his major projects since the revelation. And now, a scathing report has gone live detailing just how chaotic Roiland was at work behind the scenes.
The in-depth piece comes from The Hollywood Reporter as dozens of anonymous staffers from Rick and Morty told their stories. The picture painted is as bizarre as it is horrifying as workers detailed Roiland's general disinterest in showing up for work. When he did come into the office, sources from Rick and Morty's writer's room said they never saw him or would if Roiland was giving personal tours to adult entertainment stars like Riley Reid.
"At some point during the third season of Rick and Morty, multiple sources say Roiland simply stopped showing up – and when he did turn up in the Burbank offices, he'd typically avoid the writer's room. In fact, Roiland's colleagues often knew he was there only because they could hear his dogs. Or they'd hear his remote-control toy car, which had a microphone on top of it, zooming around the office," the report by THR reads.
However, sources went on to suggest things only got worse from there. During the creation of season three, Roiland received flack for drawing "penis monsters and other vulgar characters" in the office while writers were present. The creator allegedly spoke openly about his sexual exploits with his partner including their interest in threesomes. "It was something we just ignored because it was disgusting," one source said, and this behavior eventually culminated in the destruction of Roiland's relationship with series co-creator Dan Harmon
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The damning report goes on to detail Roiland's chronic absences from work to his use of alcohol on the clock. The anonymous staffers go on to stress the disgraced creator had little to do with Rick and Morty in recent years, and this truth left them sick in the face of Roiland's legal troubles.
"As the allegations and headlines accumulated, staffers wrestled with their association, desperate to telegraph that Roiland had not been meaningfully involved, save his voice renderings, for years. In fact, they "barely knew" the man that they were now reading about," the report reads. "A number of Rick and Morty staffers, with the blessing of a broad swath of personnel, sent a letter to Adult Swim and new corporate parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, that demanded the company put out a statement and clarify Roiland's position on the show."
Of course, we know how this demand ended. Adult Swim and Hulu have since cut ties with Roiland, and the creator has been dismissed from roles at other companies. Rick and Morty will recast the roles Roiland voiced, and shows like Solar Opposites will do the same. While the creator awaits his next court date, all eyes are on Rick and Morty as the show's team prepares to tackle a new season. The question remains whether the crew can carry on and find humor amid a scandal that is anything but funny.
What do you make of this latest report...? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.