Rick and Morty co-creator and voice actor Justin Roiland has been formally charged with felony domestic violence charges dating back to 2020. Roiland, who also co-created the Hulu series Solar Opposites and is an executive producer of the recently-launched Koala Man, appeared in court on Thursday, January 12, for a pre-trial hearing.
Justin Roiland is formally 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. NBC News reported that the charges came from a criminal complaint filed in May of 2020 regarding an incident that reportedly occurred around January 19 of 2020, involving a woman (identified only as Jane Doe) who Roiland was dating at the time.
Court documents revealed that Justin Roiland was charged in May 2020. The voice actor was later arrested then released on a $50,000 bond in August, and pled not guilty to both charges at an arraignment in October of 2020. A protective order is in place against Roiland and will not expire until October 2023. There have been dozens of court hearings since, but no official trial date as of yet.
Details related to the incident in question are few and far between, thanks in part to a protective order. Police body cam footage, investigation and medical reports, and details of the case, in general, are all currently withheld from the public. One factor gathered from this report is that there is reportedly a plea offer on the table for Justin Roiland, though the details of what it entails are not specified. Should Roiland accept a plea offer, it's likely a trial will not happen.
The news arrives at a time when Justin Roiland is a hot topic in pop culture. Rick and Morty completed Season 6 in December, Koala Man is currently streaming for those with a Hulu subscription, and High on Life, a game from Roiland's video game studio Squanch Games, is one of the top-played games on Xbox Game Pass. It remains to be seen if this incident may impact Roiland's relationships with various projects.
Justin Roiland isn't just a driving creative force behind the aforementioned projects, but also is a voice actor for major characters. Most notably, he is the voice of both Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, arguably two of the most popular and influential characters in animation currently. It doesn't appear that these charges have impacted his role in the Adult Swim series so far, but the increased publicity could cause repercussions as more of the public becomes aware.
This is the latest publicly known about Justin Roiland's domestic violence charges, though it's likely that more details will come as a trial commences or a plea deal is reached. CinemaBlend will continue to provide the latest and greatest news in television and movies in the meantime and keep readers in the know on upcoming events.
