Rick And Morty Co-Creator Accused Of Horrible Crime
Justin Roiland, co-creator of Rick and Morty, has been charged with two counts of felony, each stemming from a 2020 incident.
Justin Roiland, the star and co-creator of Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty and Hulu’s Solar Opposites, has been charged with two counts of felony in Orange County. As reported by Variety, the charges include one count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit.
The charges originated from an alleged incident in January of 2020 involving an unnamed woman, whom Justin Roiland was apparently dating. Roiland pleaded not guilty, and is free on a $50,000 bond posted in August of 2020, preceding an October arraignment. The voice actor appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing on January 12, 2023, with another hearing set for April 27; Roiland’s trial date has not yet been scheduled.
NBC News was the first to publicly report on the domestic abuse allegations against Justin Roiland, which have remained out of the public eye for nearly three years. In that time, Roiland saw the 2020 launch of Solar Opposites, and he and Community creator Dan Harmon have been making good on their 70-episode order of Rick and Morty, which just ended its sixth season in December, 2022.
Rick and Morty has been a mega-hit for Adult Swim, with its title characters (both voiced by Roiland) becoming cultural icons; they’ve even had appearances in The Simpsons and Space Jam: A New Legacy. The show launched Justin Roiland into the spotlight when it premiered in 2013, where he has enjoyed much success with Rick and Morty, despite the show’s complicated first few years.
Before Rick and Morty, Roiland wrote and acted in a number of comedy shows and had bit parts in various television series. He has since lent his voice to shows like Gravity Falls, Adventure Time, Community, Uncle Grandpa, and Robot Chicken, as well as the films Krampus and Smallfoot.
In 2018, Justin Roiland’s creative partner, Dan Harmon, faced accusations of sexual harassment in the workplace after he was called out by one of the writers of Community. Harmon apologized in earnest, prompting forgiveness from the writer. No legal action was taken against Harmon.
The news of Justin Roiland’s legal battle is new to the public, and no word has come yet on whether or not he will continue on with Rick and Morty. It is important to note that Roiland has not yet gone to trial, and the actor has yet to face his due process. There has been no comment yet from Roiland or his legal team.
Justin Roiland has long been praised for his diverse voice acting talent and irreverent humor, which he brings to every project he works on. The acclaimed actor, writer, and producer has been nominated three times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program, two of which he won, and has garnered a host of other award nominations and wins for Rick and Morty over the course of the show’s six seasons.
No release date has been set for the seventh season of Rick and Morty, but the show is expected to return later in 2023. Time will tell how Justin Roiland’s legal proceedings impact the futures of his television projects.
