"Rick and Morty" co-creator Dan Harmon has apologised for a "distasteful" video from a 2009 Harmon pilot called "Daryl", a spoof of Showtime's serial killer drama "Dexter", in which he appears to be raping a baby doll.
The host of the "Harmontown" podcast also deleted his Twitter account after video surfaced on conservative/right-wing blogs, which is also responsible for unearthing decade-old offensive jokes by "Guardians of the Galaxy" writer-director James Gunn, reported Deadline.
"In 2009, I made a 'pilot' which strove to parody the series 'Dexter' and only succeeded in offending. I quickly realised the content was way too distasteful and took the video down immediately. Nobody should ever have to see what you saw and for that, I sincerely apologise," Harmon said in a statement.
In a statement, Adult Swim, the company which co-created the hit Netflix series with Harmon, distanced itself from the offensive content, saying that it "does not reflect the type of content we seek out."
The network, however, stopped short of reprimanding Harmon, noting that he "recognised his mistake at the time and has apologised."
"At Adult Swim, we seek out and encourage creative freedom and look to push the envelope in many ways, particularly around comedy. The offensive content of Dan's 2009 video that recently surfaced demonstrates poor judgement and does not reflect the type of content we seek out.
"Dan recognised his mistake at the time and has apologised. He understands there is no place for this type of content here at Adult Swim," a spokesperson for the company said. PTI
"Rick and Morty", which Harmon still executive produces, recently received a mammoth 70-episode renewal order from Netflix.