'Rick And Morty' Creator's #HarmonBlock Hashtag Explained: What's Behind It?

"Rick and Morty" creator Dan Harmon started the hashtag #HarmonBlock after enduring a lot of harassment.

Harmon is active on social media and often engages with fans, including those who complain about the delayed release of the latest season of "Rick and Morty." However, just like any person, he also ended up blocking a lot of annoying followers, hence the hashtag #HarmonBlock.

Adult Swim's "Rick and Morty" has become so popular that some of its fans just cannot wait for new episodes. Back in 2017, there was a long delay for "Rick and Morty" Season 3, and the series creators faced a lot of harassment because of it. According to Inverse, this was when Harmon started the hashtag, which was initially #HarmonBlock2017.

The production surprised fans when they released the premiere episode of Season 3 on April Fool's Day without any announcement. During the same season, fans tormented the female writers for stories that they did not like. Even after "Rick and Morty" Season 3 was done, the harassment continued.

"The fact that #HarmonBlock exists just serves as evidence of just how horrid people on Twitter can be, especially those malignant fans who have earned the Rick and Morty fan base such a negative reputation," Corey Plante wrote.

Currently, Harmon still uses the same hashtag. In fact, his posts on Tuesday included it. "The season has not been ordered but thank you for not making me read the entire word 'please.' #harmonblock2018," he wrote.

In related news, "Rick and Morty" Season 4 has not yet been renewed. According to Harmon, the delay was due to contract negotiation issues.

"The reason we're not working on 'Rick and Morty' right now ain't because I figured out that I don't need to impress you," Harmon said. "It's because of a little something called contract negotiations and it's gotten complicated this time around."

Meanwhile, Adult Swim released a "Rick and Morty" parody episode on April Fool's Day this year. The episode, created by Michael Cusack, featured Bendigo as a wasteland.

Bendigo mayor Margaret O'Rourke reacted to the parody episode and welcomed the growing popularity of their community after a sudden spike in internet traffic for the keyword "Bendigo."

"I guess any publicity is good publicity," she said. "Bendigo is a very vibrant and beautiful place and nothing like what has been displayed."

"Obviously there are different tastes for everyone," O'Rourke added. "But I believe the Google searches have soared ever since it was released, and people would know by those searches that Bendigo is nothing like what's in the parody."