Two women are claiming in a new exposé by Buzzfeed News that John Kricfalusi pursued them as teenagers, with one saying she became his live-in girlfriend at 16.![]()
John Kricfalusi | Photo credits: Albert L. Ortega/WireImageJohn Kricfalusi, the creator of Nickelodeon's '90s animated series
The Ren & Stimpy Show, is being accused of workplace sexual harassment, statutory rape and possession of child pornography in a new story by
Buzzfeed News.
In the report published Thursday, March 29, two women, Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice, allege that Kricfalusi, an influential animator who has also animated two sequences for
The Simpsons and created art for Miley Cyrus' Bangerz tour, pursued them as teenagers. In Byrd's case, she became a live-in girlfriend at the age of 16; Rice alleged years of sexual harassment when she worked at Kricfalusi's Spumco animation studios in Los Angeles.
Byrd alleged that Kricfalusi struck up a mentor-mentee relationship with her after she, an aspiring cartoonist, sent him a letter at age 13. Later, Kricfalusi visited her at home in Arizona and flew her out twice to Los Angeles when she was 16 years old. On the second visit, Kricfalusi procured Byrd an internship at his studio and began living with her.
After Byrd graduated high school at age 17, she began living with him permanently until they temporarily separated in 2000 and permanently in 2002. The age of consent in California, then and now, is 18.
Rice, an artist, said that Kricfalusi began hitting on her and partook in self-pleasure while he was on the phone with her when she was a minor. At 18, when Rice was offered and accepted a job at Spumco, she said he sexually harassed her. Rice additionally alleged to having found child pornography on Kricfalusi's computer.
In emails, Kricfalusi demanded her professional loyalty. He also continued to pressure her for affection. Through a lawyer, Kricfalusi denied harassing Rice, saying, "John's avid pursuit of her romantically was all after the company went out of business and he was no longer her employer." But around the time of the new
Ren & Stimpy show, which was produced by Spumco and employed Rice, he wrote her a letter expressing sadness over his breakup, and also told Rice she was pretty and that he wished he could cuddle with her.
When reached by
The Hollywood Reporter, Nickelodeon had no comment. Kricfalusi was fired by the network in 1992, before the alleged relationships with minors occurred. The morning after the story was published, Krickfalusi’s portrait was removed from the Nickelodeon Animation Studio.
In response to the
Buzzfeed story, Paramount Network, the channel that was formerly Spike TV, which ran
Adult Party Cartoon, a 2003 reboot of
Ren & Stimpy, said that it did not receive any complaints against Kricfalusi at the time. A spokesperson for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim said the same.
On Kricfalusi’s behalf, an attorney responded to a detailed list of allegations in
BuzzFeed News' story with the following statement:
“The 1990s were a time of mental and emotional fragility for Mr. Kricfalusi, especially after losing
Ren and Stimpy, his most prized creation. For a brief time, 25 years ago, he had a 16-year-old girlfriend. Over the years John struggled with what were eventually diagnosed mental illnesses in 2008. To that point, for nearly three decades he had relied primarily on alcohol to self-medicate. Since that time he has worked feverishly on his mental health issues, and has been successful in stabilizing his life over the last decade. This achievement has allowed John the opportunity to grow and mature in ways he’d never had a chance at before.”
Kricfalusi’s attorney also denied that his client exposed himself or that he was ever in possession of child porn as was also alleged by one of the women.
THR has reached out to Kricfalusi's representatives for comment.
Also, from
People TV Watch:
Ren & Stimpy Creator John Kricfalusi Accused of Sexual Misconduct Toward Underage TeensThe creator of the popular Nickelodeon children’s show The Ren & Stimpy Show has been accused by two women of making sexual advances toward them when they were underage.
The accusations against John Kricfalusi, 62, are set out in detail in a new report by BuzzFeed News.
One of the women, Robin Byrd, told the outlet she was 13 when she sent the cartoonist a video about her ambition to create cartoons like him. They then, she says, started up a friendship which turned sexual three years later.
She alleges that when she was 16, he flew her to Los Angeles and, while staying at his home, touched her genitals through her pajamas. The incidents allegedly continued and culminated when Kricfalusi flew her to Los Angeles for an internship at his studio, Spumco, and she started living with him as his girlfriend and intern, BuzzFeed reports.
Kricfalusi’s attorney responded to the allegations by telling BuzzFeed News that the animator was mentally and emotionally fragile during the 1990s, when the women allege the incidents took place, “especially after losing Ren and Stimpy, his most prized creation.”
Kricfalusi’s attorney denied that his client exposed himself or that he was ever in possession of child porn as was also alleged by one of the women.
“For a brief time, 25 years ago, he had a 16-year-old girlfriend. Over the years John struggled with what were eventually diagnosed mental illnesses in 2008,” his attorney told the outlet. “To that point, for nearly three decades he had relied primarily on alcohol to self-medicate. Since that time he has worked feverishly on his mental health issues, and has been successful in stabilizing his life over the last decade. This achievement has allowed John the opportunity to grow and mature in ways he’d never had a chance at before.”
Byrd alleged she moved in with him at 17 after she graduated from high school in Arizona.
“He ruined a good bit of my childhood and my early adulthood,” Byrd told BuzzFeed in an email. “[He] gave me PTSD, and forced me to change careers, putting my life 10 years or more behind.”
“He is an abuser in the way that he will pull you into a relationship with him and then tell you who to be and what he wants from you,” she added.
Katie Rice, an artist, alleges she was 14 when Kricfalusi took an interest in her. They began speaking to each other on AOL, where the conversations between them made her feel special, she told BuzzFeed News.
When she was 15 Kricfalusi allegedly sent her messages such as, “I’m crazy about you, Katie,” and “Do I ever make you tingle?”
While they never had sexual contact, Rice claims Kricfalusi once [self-pleasured] while they were speaking on the phone.
The sexual harassment mounted, she claims, when she began working for him in 2000 when she was 18. In one instance, Rice alleges, she was working at Kricfalusi’s home studio when he appeared walking around his living room “with his weiner hanging out of his pants.”
Rice claims she once found photographs of naked girls, one of whom appeared to be around 10 years of age, on his computer. She told BuzzFeed News she attempted to report the images to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children three times.
Kricfalusi’s attorney expressly denied his client was ever in possession of child pornography.
“I became a better artist by working for him,” she said. “I’m not grateful for it. I wish I hadn’t. I wish I were a worse artist now and I didn’t have all this bulls—to deal with.”
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