In the immediate aftermath, reaction was swift. A media circus once again descended on Westchester County.
The Galleria mall in White Plains closed temporarily to allow the investigation to run its course.
In response to public sentiment, the county district attorney dropped all charges against "Skyler," citing credible self-defense claims and Kricfalusi's criminal history.
It seemed as though nobody in the animation industry was sad to see Kricfalusi go. In fact, the industry as a whole pretty much said "good riddance." Here are a few animation pros speaking their minds on John K:
RACHEL STONE
(Creator of
Steven Universe; 2002
Rolling Stone interview):
"After that asshole fucked up my appearance on
Larry King Live, I've had to change my address about six times, mainly due to the letters I kept receiving from him. However, that wasn't the end of the shit I had to deal with from John. Each time I'd move to a new house, Dennis Falk, the guy that got
Tiny Toons cancelled, would somehow find out where I lived. He often did so by interrogating my co-workers at various conventions. With that, he'd forward each of my addresses to John. When the second season of
Steven premiered, I had gotten a message on my answering machine, from a neighbor, that Dennis stole eight pairs of my underwear off of my clothesline in the backyard. Then I found out later he mailed those to John. I'm neither sad, nor angry that John is gone. In fact, I revel in his well-deserved demise. Fuck him!!!"
OBIE SCOTT WADE
(Creator of
Shezow; Interview on WSB-TV local news):
"Nobody outside of Trump Manhattan wanted to believe [John] was an absolute nutcase. Nor did they want to believe he had a thing for underage girls. Unfortunately, there are going to be people out there that won't accept he is now thankfully dead."
"If you recall Sody Pop, the character that joined the
Ren and Stimpy cast midway through the show's run, he straight up admitted to Howard Stern she was underage. About two and a half years before John kidnapped "Blair," Christina Ricci visited our studio to host a behind-the-scenes special on the making of
Ren and Stimpy. Bob Camp, Jim Gomez, Chris Savino and I were featured pretty heavily on that special as was John. Unsurprisingly, John made Christina extremely uncomfortable, but when she tried to explain to Donald Trump what happened, he pretty much laughed in her face. When I met Christina again later on, when she came to Atlanta to read for
Shezow, she told me that when she tried reporting John's douchebaggery to the New Rochelle PD, the officer she spoke to also treated the whole thing like a joke. Anyways, Blair's moderate resemblance to the actress was what must have turned John on when he started stalking her. He even wrote in his sketchbook that if he couldn't '...have the real [Christina Ricci], then the girl next door will have to do.' That of course was the same sketchbook I helped present as evidence against him at his trial.
I hope that with the death of this horrible monster, the animation business can continue rebuilding trust with the public."
MATT GROENING
(Creator of The Simpsons and Futurama; Interview with
Animation Magazine):
"At this point, I have no sympathy for John Kricfalusi. None whatsoever. He bashed [The Simpsons] constantly and followed those up with backhanded complements. But more importantly, he made too many enemies in the business to be credited for the TV animation revolution of the last decade and a half. Oh yeah, and that
Ren and Stimpy garbage will forever he tarnished by the abduction and abuse of that girl."
MATT STONE (L) and TREY PARKER (R)
(Creators of South Park):
"That fucking prick always accused us of stealing his ideas. No need to lock up the dude in the dress. Justice was already served!"
ERIC (Left) and JULIA LEWALD (Right)
(Executive producers of the Marvel Animated Universe at Walt Disney Television Animation)
Eric:
"We've saved a nice bottle of vintage champagne specifically for this event. But as time goes on, I'm sure we're still going to get questions at Comic Con about our days at Gemini."
Julia:
"Even though John is now dead, I must continue to encourage aspiring animators to stamp out harassment of any kind from our industry."
JON LOVITZ
(voice of Jay Sherman from
The Critic):
"...and nothing of value was lost."
DANNY ANTONUCCI
(Creator of
Ed, Edd n Eddy):
"No individual animator is bigger than the industry. That was something John should have learned a long time ago."
DANIEL ABBOTT
(Animator and voice artist at Disney; Above image is a stand-in since Mr Abbott is a fictional animator for TTL):
"If I could say one last thing to John, I'd say 'ROT IN BLOODY HELL YOU KIDDY-FIDDLING WANKER!!!"
Abbott was played in the third act of The Man Behind The Myth
by Tim Roth (above). Even before cameras rolled on that film, Abbott often joked about being mistaken for Roth by passers by.
CHRIS SAVINO
(Creator of
The Loud House):
"If someone needed a clue-by-four in that time and place, it was me. Had it not been for [John's] arrest and trial, it would've probably taken longer for my cavalier attitude towards women to change."
BOB CAMP
(Oscar winning co-director of Shrek):
"With John finally gone, I guess Nickelodeon will slowly integrate
Ren and Stimpy back into its lineup. Except this time, I bought the rights to the show with the help of a fan campaign. As for John, that son of a bitch whizzed on the electric fence for sure!"
PETER SCHNEIDER
(Nickelodeon executive):
"We have to be extremely meticulous if we are to bring Ren and Stimpy back to the network. The immediate months after John Kricfalusi's death is too soon...We can't afford to be seen as paying tribute to someone who committed despicable acts behind the scenes."
MARK EVANIER
(Currently developing a
Garfield reboot for Film Roman):
"Almost since the first day I met John at Gemini, I despised his stupid ass. His death gives me great joy!"
SCOTT SHAW!
(Former Gemini animator and current freelance cartoonist):
"I am not exaggerating when I say everybody in animation is happy to see John gone!"
SETH MACFARLANE
(Creator of
Larry and Steve):
"John's demise brought a smile to my face. Never did I anticipate a crossdressing boy would be the one to take John down. I mean, crazy as my show is, even I couldn't make up shit like that."