On the classic 90's sitcom Newsradio, Andy Dick played the eccentric "weird guy at the office," Matthew Brock. The actor killed it in the role, proving to be talented at verbal and physical comedy. But as his career went on, the outrageous behavior of his characters was eclipsed by his outrageous behavior in real life.
It's no secret that Andy's struggled with drug and alcohol abuse. Between 2004 and 2016, he was arrested for allegedly mooning customers at McDonald's, exposing a 17-year-old girl's breasts outside a Buffalo Wild Wings, grabbing the crotch of a bouncer and forcing a kiss on a man at a Virginia bar, and stealing a man's thousand dollar necklace on the street in Hollywood. Also, in 2007, he was "jokingly" dragged off the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live for inappropriately touching current first daughter Ivanka Trump.
According to a 2016 article by VICE, Andy checked into rehab twenty times. For a while, it seemed like he was making progress, and he pulled off a memorable guest turn in Judd Apatow's Netflix dramedy, Love. On Love, Andy played a fictionalized version of himself, poking fun at his wild behavior.
But soon reports emerged that Andy was spiraling back on booze. TMZ caught up with him one night, and he is obviously drunk. The video is very uncomfortable to watch. Andy offers to lick and grope the reporter, and reveals that he contemplates committing suicide every day.
Shortly afterward, another woman came forward accusing the actor of sexual assault. Morgan Paige claimed that Andy groped her without her consent in a club. She wrote that after repeatedly touching her thigh, he "clasps onto my hand. I can’t get my hand out. He starts power walking with me through the crowd to a more exclusive roped off area and I try to rip his hand off mine." Judd Apatow condemned Andy's behavior as "reprehensible," and announced he "will no longer be using" Andy on Love.
Last February, Lina Sved, Andy's wife and the mother of two of his children, applied for a restraining order. She claimed he was drinking again, and threw violent outbursts in the house, screaming obscenities, breaking dishes and flipping a coffee table. Lina was granted a temporary restraining order, which required Andy to move out and stay 100 yards away from her and her children.
Today TMZ reported the troubled comedian has been charged with sexual battery. A woman claims that last April, April squeezed her butt twice, while she walked by on the sidewalk. According to court documents, the 52-year-old actor "did willfully and unlawfully touch an intimate part of another … against his or her will for the specific purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, and sexual abuse."
The L.A. City Attorney charged Andy with misdemeanor sexual battery and misdemeanor simple battery. An arraignment is scheduled for July 19.
To many, this story is the least surprising news ever, considering Andy's history. It's too bad he couldn't confine his outrageous, erratic behavior to his characters.