A new report concerning the creator of The Ren & Stimpy Show is sending shockwaves around the Internet. A detailed exposé by Buzzfeed News just went live, and the lengthy piece accuses John Kricfalusi of sexual harassment, statutory rape, and possession of child pornography.
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The report, which went live earlier today, shares the accounts of two women named Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice. The pair allege that Kricfalusi began pursuing a sexual relationship with them when they were teenagers. According to Byrd, she says she moved in with Kricfalusi as a live-in girlfriend when she was just sixteen. As for Rice, the woman claims the animator began to sexually harass her while she worked at his animation studios in Los Angeles.
For Byrd, she claims Kricfalusi approached her initially as she was an aspiring cartoonist and a fan of his. At thirteen, she sent a letter to Kricfalusi to share her aspirations, and he then visited her home in Arizona before flying her out to California twice. Three years later, Byrd says she got an internship at Kricfalusi’s studio and began living with him. The pair continued to live together on-and-off over the next few years.
Rice’s account regarding Kricfalusi begins when she started at his animation studios. The artist alleges the creator hit on her at work and also masturbated while speaking to her on the phone when she was a minor. When she turned eighteen, Rice says the famed animator sexually harassed her and went on to claim she found child pornography on Kricfalusi’s computer (via THR).
So far, no word has been given by Kricfalusi’s camp on the subject, but Buzzfeed News did reach out to the networks he associate with. Nickelodeon declined to comment on the report, and Paramount TV said it received zero complaints against the animator when he ran the 2003 reboot of Ren & Stimpy. Spokespeople for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim echoed the sentiment as well.
If you are not familiar with Kricfalusi, the animator and voice actor is best-known for his tenure on The Ren & Stimpy Show. He has also worked on projects like The Ripping Friends and worked with musical acts like Tenacious D.
