Justin Roiland: Domestic violence charges against Rick and Morty creator dropped

By Helen Bushby Entertainment Reporter23 Mar 2023, 09:31 GMT

Updated 1 hour ago

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Justin Roiland said he was “so disappointed that so many people were so quick to judge”.

US prosecutors have dropped domestic violence charges against Rick and Morty co-creator and voice actor Justin Roiland.

Charges involving an ex-girlfriend were dismissed “due to a lack of sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt,” a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney told The Associated Press.

He said he wanted to “move on”.

He added: “I’m so disappointed that so many people were so quick to jump to judgment without knowing the facts, based solely on the word of a disgruntled ex who tried to bypass due process and ‘cancel’ me.”

“That it may have succeeded, even partially, is shameful.”

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Roiland, 43, co-created Rick and Morty in 2013 with Dan Harmon and voiced the title characters for the Emmy-winning anarchic animated sitcom about a scientist and his nephew.

When the allegations came to light in January, Adult Swim, part of Cartoon Network, said it had “ended our relationship” with Roiland and that Rick and Morty would continue without him for season seven. Reports said that his roles would be recast.

Days later, Hulu also followed suit by dropping Roiland, who worked on the US streaming site’s animated shows Solar Opposites and Koala Man.

Hulu declined to comment in light of the charges being dropped. The BBC has also contacted Adult Swim for comment.

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Rick and Morty won Emmys for best animated program in 2018 and 2020

The game company founded by Roiland in 2016, Squanch Games, also said in January that it had “accepted the resignation of Justin Roiland.”

In May 2020, prosecutors in California charged Roiland with two counts of assault causing bodily harm and false imprisonment by threat, violence, fraud and/or deception of an unidentified woman who was living with him at the time.

A police complaint said the alleged incident, which dates back to January of that year, resulted in a “traumatic state” for the woman.

This January, his lawyer said his client was innocent, adding: “We look forward to clearing Justin’s name and helping him move forward as quickly as possible.”