Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland has been cleared of domestic violence charges, via Variety. Kimberly Edds, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s office, said in a statement: “We dismissed the charges today as a result of having insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.”
In a statement made today by Roiland on his personal social media, he responded to the dismissed charges, expressing that he is “thankful the case has been dismissed.” He added, “I’m still deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process.”
Previously, Roiland appeared in court in January for a pre-trial hearing after he was charged with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit. He pleaded not guilty to the charges in 2020. A second pre-trial hearing was scheduled for April 27.
He is best known for his involvement in co-creating the Adult Swim animated comedy Rick and Morty, on which he also voiced the show’s two titular characters. Roiland’s credits also include Hulu’s Solar Opposites, which was renewed for a fifth season back in October, and Koala Man, which he executive produced and had a voice role in. Hulu similarly dropped him from both series in January, saying in a statement: “We have ended our association with Justin Roiland.” The shows were not canceled and will continue on without his involvement. Adult Swim and Squanch Games also cut ties with him earlier this year.
Adult Swim and Hulu have not commented on this latest development.
In the rest of Roiland’s statement about these charges he said, “That it may have succeeded, even partially, is shameful. However, now that the legal case has ended, I’m determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name.”