California prosecutors on Wednesday dropped domestic violence charges against Justin Roiland, who created the Cartoon Network animated series “Rick and Morty” and provided the voices of the show’s two title characters.
Orange County district attorney’s spokeswoman Kimberly Edds said the two felony counts involving a former girlfriend were dropped “due to a lack of sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Roiland responded to the dismissal on Twitter.
justice pic.twitter.com/1q9M4GA6MV
— Justin Roiland (@JustinRoiland) March 22, 2023
Roiland, 43, had been awaiting trial on charges of corporal injury and false imprisonment by menace, fraud, violence or deceit against the woman, who he was living with at the time. She was not identified in court documents.
The charges dated to May of 2020, but they apparently went unnoticed by media outlets until NBC News reported on them in January of this year.
Roiland and Dan Harmon created the animated sci-fi sitcom about a mad scientist and his grandson, both voiced by Roiland. It has aired for six seasons on Cartoon Network as part of its Adult Swim nighttime programming block, and it has been renewed for a seventh.
Adult Swim and Cartoon Network cut ties with him when the charges were reported and said his roles would be recast. 20th TV Animation and Hulu Originals, which produce two other animated series Roiland worked on, did the same.
The companies declined comment on Wednesday.
