Justin Roiland, co-creator of the popular adult cartoon “Rick and Morty,” is being accused of using his fame from the series to develop relationships with young fans, some of them sexual.
An NBC News investigation published Wednesday reported that between 2013 and 2022, Roiland attempted to make contact with at least 11 women and nonbinary people, nine of whom say he made the exchanges sexual in nature.
Three of the people who said they had sex with Roiland told NBC News they were underage at the time of their first contact with the animator, who also voiced the show’s titular characters.
NBC News reviewed messages between Roiland and the accusers as well as photos and social media interactions.
Roiland engaged with fans on social media and dating apps, calling them “super cute” or “hot.” He asked the fans their ages before delving into more personal questions about their sexuality, according to NBC News.
One woman told the outlet that Roiland forced her to perform oral sex after she previously declined. Another woman said he flew her to Los Angeles and took advantage of her by having sex with her and another woman when she was intoxicated.
Some of his accusers confronted Roiland about his behavior after the fact, after which he apologized.
Janna Waters, who is nonbinary, was 16 when they connected with the then-35-year-old Roiland.
“At first I really thought this guy wanted to be my friend, and I really needed friends at the time,” Waters told NBC News. “He was a grown man, I was a teenage girl.”
The two stayed in touch. When Waters was 20, Roiland invited them to a party a few hours away from their home in North Carolina and offered to put them up for the night. Waters said though they were underage, Roiland encouraged them to drink. He later invited two women back to the place he and Waters were staying and asked Waters to kiss one of them. Waters said they declined and drove home.
In retrospect, Waters said they believe Roiland “groomed” them for a possible sexual relationship.
“It took someone else pointing out that his behavior was creepy and inappropriate before I truly realized what I had been through,” Waters wrote on Facebook in November 2022. “Since before day one I was just another conquest to him. I think what hurts me most is the fact that he wasn’t actually my friend.”
Roiland’s attorney, Andrew Battler, told NBC News the accusations against his client are “false and defamatory,” and noted that some of the claims had been previously published online. A request for further comment from HuffPost was not returned.
Earlier this year, It was revealed that a district attorney in Orange County, California, filed a criminal complaint against Roiland in May 2020 for domestic violence.
Although the charges were dropped in March, he was dumped from “Rick and Morty” by Adult Swim, and his two Hulu shows, “Solar Opposites” and “Koala Man.”