Justin Roiland, co-creator of the popular Rick and Morty animated series, has been accused of abusing a woman he was dating in 2020, according to reports.
Roiland, 42, was arrested and hit with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit reportedly against a woman known only as “Jane Doe” thus far, according to NBC News.
The TV producer has pleaded not guilty to the charges at a court appearance on Thursday in Orange County, California. Roiland is set to appear at a pretrial hearing on April 27, but the trial date is not yet set, according to court filings.
The woman who claims to have been abused said the incident occurred in Jan. of 2020. Roiland was charged for the incident on May of 2020, was arrested then, and released on a $50,000 bond by August. He was formally arraigned in Oct. of that year. An order of protection was also filed against Roiland that stays in effect until Oct. of this year. IT is not known just who filed for the protective order.
Many of the court documents in the case are sealed and unavailable to the public. Police evidence, medical reports, and interviews with witnesses, victims, and Roiland are also under wraps due to a protective order.
Roiland’s attorney said in court this week that there is a plea deal on the table, but the details are unknown.
Neither Adult Swim, Comedy Central, nor Warner Bros. Discovery, which each have a hand in airing the Rick and Morty series, have commented on the court case.
Justin Roiland, co-creator and star of Rick and Morty, has been charged with domestic violence and false imprisonment relating to a 2020 incident.https://t.co/u9ZqQR3UL2 pic.twitter.com/cu4oikhRWd
— Screen Rant (@screenrant) January 12, 2023
According to Rolling Stone, Roiland’s cartoon series, co-created with Dan Harmon, has become a billion-dollar property. Roiland has also been involved in the Hulu series Koala Man, which only just recently debuted. Roiland is also a voice talent on the Hulu series, Solar Opposites, which is in its fifth season.
Harmon has also found himself in trouble over the years.
In 2018, he deleted his Twitter account after a video from 2009 surfaced in which he played a child molester who rapes a baby.
Harmon later apologized for the video “In 2009, I made a ‘pilot’ which strove to parody the series ‘Dexter’ and only succeeded in offending. I quickly realized the content was way too distasteful and took the video down immediately. Nobody should ever have to see what you saw and for that, I sincerely apologize,” Harmon said at the time.
Worse, Harmon lost his job on the series Community in 2018 after admitting that he sexually harased writer Megan Ganz.
UPDATE: Edward Welbourn, an attorney for Roiland, submitted a statement to Breitbart News forcefully denying any wrongdoing by his client: “It is hard to overstate how inaccurate the recent media coverage of this situation has been. To be clear, not only is Justin innocent but we also have every expectation that this matter is on course to be dismissed once the District Attorney’s office has completed its methodical review of the evidence. We look forward to clearing Justin’s name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible.”
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