BuzzFeed News reported Thursday that “Ren and Stimpy Show” creator John Kricfalusi “preyed upon” two fans when they were teenagers, making him the latest Hollywood leader to be accused of sexual misconduct in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein allegations. To her surprise, she didn’t just get a reply, Kricfalusi, then in his 40s, began sending her art supplies and when she was 16 he flew her to his LA studio, Spumco, to show her around and stay at his property. 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. A lawyer for Kricfalusi admitted to Buzzfeed News that "for a brief time, 25 years ago, he had a 16-year-old girlfriend" and detailed a period of mental illness. Over the years John struggled with what were eventually diagnosed mental illnesses in 2008,” his attorney told the outlet. The lawyer also said that the animator, now 62, has struggled for years with what was eventually diagnosed as mental illness 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.”

Courtesy Rice A photo sent to Rice by Kricfalusi

While Byrd felt deeply alone when she left animation, she later realized she hadn’t been the only underage girl Kricfalusi groomed for a relationship.
A pair of women accuse The Ren & Stimpy Show creator John Kricfalusi of sexually abusing them in the 1990s while they were minors. Kricfalusi, who was in his 40s at the time, admitted to Buzzfeed that he had an underage girlfriend during the years in question.