Justin Roiland Hasn’t Had Creative Input In Years, According To ‘Rick And Morty’ Staffers
It appears Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland was positioned to get the boot from his various jobs for a long while now, years before reports of felony domestic violence charges and allegations of online sexual harassment became public.
After being dropped by Adult Swim, Hulu, Disney 20th Century Animation, and even his own company Squanch Games, a report from THR was released, with claims from former co-workers and employees saying Roiland’s firing has been “a long time coming.”
In the report, multiple anonymous staff members working with Roiland confirmed that outside of voicing the characters, he “has not had any meaningful creative presence on any of the series that bear his name.” Colleagues also stated Roiland “paraded a high-profile porn star through the Rick and Morty writer’s room, openly discussed threesomes, and was involved in at least one instance of alleged sexual harassment during the show’s third season, notably its first with female writers.”
He also created an abysmal working environment. According to the report, Rick & Morty, Koala Man, and Solar Opposites staffers say they’ve never actually met Roiland in person. He’d skip pertinent meetings, cancel them at the last minute, or arrive inebriated, leaving vocal performances for the last minute and phoning them in when he eventually for around to it.
Rick and Morty‘s staffers specifically touch on the relationship between co-creators Roiland and Dan Harmon, saying they don’t speak to each other and that an intervention was eventually required from a professional mediator.
Following an all-hands-on-deck production meeting on January 17, Rick and Morty‘s staffers said they sent a letter to Adult Swim and its parent company Warner Bros. Discovery urging the network to publicly state Roiland’s lack of creative input, which Adult Swim did.
Roiland has remained silent since the accusations surfaced, and he’s set to return to court in April 2023 for another pre-trial hearing.
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