We all know and love the incredibly entertaining show, Rick & Morty. Both the eponymous characters of the animated series were voiced by a single person, Justin Roiland. Since the voices varied to such extensive degrees, the praise he received for his work knew no bounds. That is until he had some pretty serious allegations linked to his name.
Justin Roiland not only voiced Rick and Morty in the series, but he was also the co-creator of the show, alongside Dan Harmon. However, Justin Roiland was stripped of all his positions when he was charged with domestic violence allegations. Later, other allegations against the ex-co-creator emerged which involved s*xual harassment on the sets of Rick & Morty. And now that Justin Roiland has been cleared of the domestic violence charges, let’s take a look at what exactly he was accused of.
Allegations Against Justin Roiland
Initially, Justin Roiland was charged with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury. On top of that, he was also charged with one felony count of false imprisonment. The incident which is at the center of these allegations is said to have occurred around mid-January 2020 and is related to an anonymous Jane Doe that he was dating during the time. However, Roiland pleaded not guilty to both charges and has maintained his innocence ever since.
Later on, other allegations of s*xual harassment were made against Roiland. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Roiland allegedly drew inappropriate and lewd images on whiteboards in the writer’s room of Rick & Morty. He was also said to have suggested threesomes to other staff members. An insider stated, “It was something we just ignored because it was so disgusting.” Some sources also stated that Roiland once sent a text to a female employee, allegedly asking her to visit his home, late at night. The sources added that the text was “Really creepy.”
All of these allegations are from the time when Rick & Morty went into its third season when Dan Harmon hired the first female writers of the show. The allegations were formally investigated by Cartoon Network.
According to a source, Roiland grew uninterested in the direction the show was heading in. They added that he and other writers would visit Toys R Us, buy action figures/Nerf guns, and spend the day playing with the toys instead of getting work done. Another source stated that Roiland became “surly, petulant, uncommunicative and grouchy, like he always wished he was doing something else.”
Multiple sources stated that Roiland stopped his regular visits to the writing too. and only made exceptions when it was time to bring famous fans of the series to the sets. These famous fans include Kanye West, the comedians from Impractical Jokers, and even Adult Film star, Riley Reid.
Justin Roiland Cleared of his Charges
Due to insufficient evidence against Roiland, he has been cleared of the domestic violence charges. The spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Kimberly Edds, stated, “We dismissed the charges today as a result of having insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Roiland also took to social media to state that he never doubted that his innocence would be proved. He added that while he was grateful for the dismissal of the case, he is still shaken by the lies told about him.
Roiland’s attorney, T. Edward Welbourn, issued a statement to Variety where he commended the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for dismissing the case. Welbourn is thankful that justice has prevailed.
Since the charges were why Roiland was removed from Adult Swim and Hulu, will the dismissal cause the two companies to rethink their decision? Neither Hulu nor Adult Swim has commented on the recent development.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
