News / TV

Ren & Stimpy creator outed as predator of underage teen girls

Most people who were fans of the animated cult classic Ren & Stimpy knew that its creator had a troubled past with Nickelodeon, withJohn Kricfalusi getting fired from his own show. And people who worked on the show likely knew that Kricfalusi liked to date younger women.

But until BuzzFeed broke the news last week, few knew the extent of Kricfalusi’s predatory, illegal and allegedly criminal behavior toward multiple teen girls in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Two women who connected with him because of their interest in pursuing animation careers spoke at length to BuzzFeed about their relationships with him, and how he allegedly harassed, molested and assaulted them over the years.

One of the women was 13 when she sent Kricfalusi, then 39, a fan video expressing her hopes and dreams of working in animation. He wrote back early and often, eventually flying her to his home studio when she was 16, and cultivating a sexual relationship with her. Another young girl — who Kricfalusi introduced to each other when they were both teens — claimed that he persistently harassed her sexually, too.

An attorney for Kricfalusi responded to BuzzFeed 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.”

The day after BuzzFeed’s story published, Nickelodeon removed his portrait from its headquarter’s walls.

Meanwhile, the makers of a Ren & Stimpy documentary were finishing the end credits. Instead of releasing their happy news about Happy Happy, Joy Joy, they posted on their Indiegogo page: “We are in the process of deciding how to proceed. This may take some time, but know we will communicate with you as soon as we have more information to share.”

 

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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