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Jan 24, 2023 · Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland was recently hit with several domestic violence charges. And, despite denying these charges, he’s now facing other allegations. Specifically, a series...
Feb 7, 2023 · Roiland was stripped of his lucrative overall deal at Disney’s 20th Television Animation, and both Adult Swim ( Rick and Morty) and Hulu ( Solar Opposites, Koala Man) released statements that...
- Overview
- A Tinder date gone wrong
- Pursuing young fans, some underage
- A weekend at Roiland’s house
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.
Roiland frequently followed and interacted with the starstruck “Rick and Morty” fans on social media and dating apps. He’d offer compliments, calling them “super cute” or “hot.” And he’d ask their ages and where they were from.
Roiland would soon start asking questions like, “Are you into girls?” or “Where are you on the Kinsey scale?” — a reference to research that suggests many people’s sexual orientation falls somewhere between heterosexuality and homosexuality.
Then, he’d ask them to meet, sometimes even offering to foot the bill.
One woman who took Roiland up on the offer said that on a Tinder date he sexually assaulted her, forcing her to perform oral sex on him after she said “no.” Another woman accepted Roiland’s offer to be flown to Los Angeles to stay with him, where she said she drank heavily before Roiland and another woman had sex with her. Looking back on the alcohol involved and the financial and power dynamics between her and Roiland, she said she feels that Roiland took advantage of her. She said the experience left her mentally traumatized.
In March 2019, Roiland messaged a 20-year-old woman from Boston on Tinder.
“Yes it’s actually me. Yes, I co-created Rick and Morty,” his profile read. That year, the show was a cultural phenomenon and the no. 1 comedy across U.S. cable. He was in Boston that March for a gaming convention.
Roiland messaged her first: “Hey what’s up biiiiitch (jk!),” an apparent nod to the voice of Rick Sanchez, one of the “Rick and Morty” characters.
The woman told NBC News she didn’t watch “Rick and Morty,” but she knew about the show’s success and knew Roiland was famous and likely rich.
“Hello!” she wrote. “Can we go shopping and have fun and ill give you a fashion show and we can get coffee and talk!?”
“I think I’m down yeah,” Roiland wrote back. “I’d be cool with just hanging, maybe a drink- just talk and meet you.”
Roiland’s messages with fans show he followed a distinct pattern when pursuing them.
NBC News spoke with seven people who posted screenshots of their conversations with Roiland online. Each of them shared additional message history and screen recordings of their messages, or otherwise showed that Roiland had followed them on social media or shared pictures with him to back up the authenticity of the messages.
Another four people who did not post their messages online also spoke with NBC News and shared their messages with Roiland.
A review of the messages showed Roiland would have similar conversations with various women at the same time, even using near-identical phrases.
Roiland would sometimes initiate a conversation that would start with him responding to questions or praise about “Rick and Morty” or making small talk. He would sometimes apologize for being drunk or too forward as he moved the conversations toward asking for sexual photos or to meet up. He said multiple times that he didn’t mean to come off as creepy and didn’t have bad intentions before asking for photos and meetups again.
Roiland usually asked people how old they were, if they were single, and if they were “into girls.” In three cases, when the person said they were under 18, Roiland would message them again months or years later. Those three conversations started with people who said they were 16 at the time, and continued for years, until they were 18 and older.
Roiland first appeared in one Pennsylvania teen’s inbox after she tweeted about “Rick and Morty” in May 2016. She was 19 and Roiland was 36 at the time.
Roiland first followed her and began a conversation by asking about her artwork, which she had posted online. A few messages later, he flattered her by saying she was “better than” he was at her age and asking her to keep in touch.
The woman was shocked and thrilled. “I AM NOT OKAY RIGHT NOW THE CO CREATOR OF RICK AND MORTY SAID MY ART IS GOOD,” she said in a Facebook post with screenshots of the messages.
The conversation between the two continued, first over Twitter direct messages and later through text messages.
“Justin targeting me made me feel like I was special and chosen,” she said in an interview. “Even just being [followed by him on] Twitter made me feel special because I’d see my name next to accomplished artists and people.”
In March 2017, Roiland invited the woman to visit him in Los Angeles, offering to pay for her plane ticket. She agreed and Roiland bought the tickets, forwarding her a confirmation email. The woman had never traveled across the country by herself, she told Roiland. Before she was allowed to go, the woman’s father spoke to Roiland over a FaceTime call. The woman said that her father asked what Roiland’s plans and intentions were, and that Roiland told him she would be safe in his house.
- Kat Tenbarge
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Sep 13, 2023 · Though domestic violence charges against disgraced Rick And Morty creator Justin Roiland were dismissed earlier this year, he is now facing accusations of using his fame to coerce young women...
