The creator of Rick and Morty reflects on his distancing from the show’s co-creator, Justin Roiland, after allegations surfaced.
Season 7 of Rick and Morty is on the way. The newest trailer was released, promoting a new era of the show with new voice talents taking over the roles of the show’s co-creator, Justin Roiland. An Adult Swim insider stated that this first season without Roiland’s involvement will be just as strong as the show’s ever been, “We want the show to speak for itself. We believe in the strength of the season and our new voices and we want to preserve the viewing experience for fans.”
The show’s creator, Dan Harmon, is no stranger to having turbulent working relationships, having famously butted heads with Chevy Chase on the NBC sitcom Community. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Harmon finally speaks on his Rick and Morty co-creator after Roiland faced serious accusations of abuse and misconduct. Harmon started by saying, “The easiest thing for me to say about Justin has been nothing. Easy because he isolated so well and easy because I’m nobody’s first choice as a judge of anything or anyone. This is where I’d love to change the subject to myself, to what a piece of crap I’ve been my whole public life.”
Then, he would continue, “I would feel so safe and comfortable making this about me, but that trick is worthless here and dangerous to others. It’s other people’s safety and comfort that got damaged while I obsessed over a cartoon’s quality. Trust has now been violated between countless people and a show designed to please them. I’m frustrated, ashamed and heartbroken that a lot of hard work, joy and passion can be leveraged to exploit and harm strangers.”
Harmon reveals the last time he talked with Roiland was in 2019 over text, and it left him in tears. “He said things that he’d never said before about being unhappy, and I remember saying to him the last time we spoke in person, like, ‘I am worried about you, and I don’t know what to do about that except to give you all the string and also just say I’m scared that you’re not going to come back.’ But then this conversation became unprecedentedly confrontational.” He adds, “I think that’s as far as I get to take the story. At that point, we’re no longer both there for it, and it starts to become not only unfair for me to continue but totally uncomfortable because, from there, a friendship goes away, and I still don’t fully understand why.”
Season 7 of Rick and Morty premieres on Adult Swim on October 15.
