Even the greatest empires can fall, and animation fans have seen this happen firsthand this year. After all, Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland has seen his brand implode in recent weeks in the face of allegations of domestic violence. Not long ago, court documents confirmed that the writer-actor was charged with a felony in 2020, and Roiland has been dropped from all of his major projects since the revelation. And now a damning report has gone live describing how chaotic Roiland was at work behind the scenes.

The in-depth part comes out The Hollywood Reporter as dozens of anonymous Rick and Morty employees told their stories. The picture painted is as bizarre as it is horrifying, as workers described Roiland’s general disinterest in showing up for work. When he entered the office, sources from Rick and Morty’s writers’ room said they would never see or see him if Roiland gave personal tours to adult entertainment stars like Riley Reid.

At one point during Rick and Morty’s third season, multiple sources say Roiland simply stopped showing up — and when he showed up at the Burbank offices, he would usually avoid the writers’ room. In fact, Roiland’s colleagues often knew that he was only there because they could hear his dogs, or they could hear his remote control toy car with a microphone on it buzzing around the office,” the THR report reads.

However, sources suggested that things only got worse from there. During the creation of season three, Roiland was criticized for drawing “penis monsters and other vulgar characters” in the office while writers were present. The creator reportedly spoke openly about his sexual exploits with his partner, including their interest in threesomes. “It was something we just ignored because it was disgusting,” said a source, 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 further from Roiland’s chronic absence from work to his use of alcohol on the clock. The anonymous staffers further emphasize that the disgraced creator had little to do with Rick and Morty in recent years, and this truth sickened them despite Roiland’s legal troubles.

“As the allegations and headlines piled up, staffers wrestled with their association, desperate to telegraph that Roiland had not been meaningfully involved for years beyond his voice renderings. In fact, they barely knew the man they were now reading about,” reads the report. “A number of Rick and Morty staffers, with the blessing of a broad swath of staff, sent a letter to Adult Swim and its new parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, demanding that the company make a statement explaining Roiland’s position on the show. would clarify.”

Of course, we know how this question ended. Adult Swim and Hulu have since cut ties with Roiland, and the creator has been fired from positions at other companies. Rick and Morty will recast the roles Roiland voiced, and shows like Solar Opposites will do the same. As the creator awaits his next trial, all eyes are on Rick and Morty as the show’s team prepares for another season. The question is whether the crew can go ahead and find humor in the midst of a scandal that is anything but funny.

What do you think of this latest report…? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or give me a call on Twitter @Megan Peters CB.