A day after it came to light that Justin Rowland, creator of Rick and Morty, was arrested (opens in new tab) in 2020 on charges of domestic violence and false imprisonment, Kotaku (opens in new tab) reported that the studio he founded, Squanch Games was sued by a former employee for sexual harassment.

The lawsuit alleges that designer Sarah Doukakos was repeatedly harassed by her boss, technical director Jeff Dixon, and that Doukakos' numerous formal complaints were ignored by management. The lawsuit alleges that then-CEO Tanya Watson, who co-founded the company with Roland, concertedly ignored and disregarded Doukakos' complaints. The lawsuit further alleges that Dukakos was fired in retaliation for her complaints and that her last salary was withheld until she signed a release of liability

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Dixon reportedly mocked and disrespected Ducacos and hugged her repeatedly without her consent. Other managers and senior employees were also allegedly aware of this treatment, one of whom approached Watson on behalf of Dukakos. The CEO allegedly told Dukakos, "That's the way men of this generation are," and encouraged her to deal with it.

Despite receiving favorable reviews as of August 2018, Dukakos was fired just three months later, with the company citing her performance as the reason. The lawsuit, on the other hand, claimed that the termination was in retaliation for Doukakos' filing of a complaint against Dixon. Squanch eventually settled out of court with Doukakos in September 2019, and Dixon and Watson are no longer employed by the company.

In an interview with Kotaku, a Squanch spokesperson stated: "Squanch Games is committed to creating an inclusive and collaborative work environment for our team. We do not publicly disclose personnel matters and stand by our decision made in 2017 not to reveal confidential information related to the case."

The dual revelations - Roland's own criminal complaint and the civil suit filed against the studio he founded - paint a grim picture for Squanch, which released its biggest game to date, High on Life (opens in new tab), late last year.