In March 2018, former Spümcø employees Robyn Byrd and Katie Rice told
BuzzFeed News that Kricfalusi
sexually harassed and
groomed them while they were underage.
[100] Byrd told the website that she was in a sexual relationship with Kricfalusi in 1997 at age 16, and flew to
California to live with him when she was 17. Rice said that Kricfalusi had flirted with her and made overt sexual comments towards her starting when she was 14, and sexually harassed her when she turned 18 and began working at his animation studio, Spümcø.
Documents Rice and Byrd had saved from those years corroborate their stories, and several people who worked with Kricfalusi referred to his sexual harassment as an open secret in the animation industry. Kricfalusi was also reported to possess
child pornography on his computer. Though the allegations were eventually reported to the police, they could neither arrest nor investigate Kricfalusi because the
statute of limitations had passed.
[100]
In response, Kricfalusi's lawyer confirmed that "for a brief time, 25 years ago, he had a 16-year-old girlfriend", but denied that Kricfalusi's "avid pursuit" of Rice was sexual harassment or that he had ever possessed child pornography.
[100] Kricfalusi released an apology to the women and his fans for his behavior, which he said was motivated by then-undiagnosed
bipolar disorder and
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), as well as "poor impulse control".
[5] Byrd and Rice criticized Kricfalusi's statement as a
non-apology and an attempt to deflect the blame.
[101]
Due to the allegations, Kricfalusi will not be involved in
Comedy Central's upcoming revival of
The Ren & Stimpy Show, nor will he receive any financial compensation from it.
[102][103]
en.m.wikipedia.org