Rick and Morty will continue without Justin Roiland, after co-creator dropped following domestic abuse charges
25 January 2023, 18:04
Popular animated comedy Rick and Morty will continue without co-creator Justin Roiland, who was dropped after it emerged he'd been charged with felony domestic abuse.
Roiland, 42, who voices the shows titular characters has been charged over an incident involving a former girlfriend. He denies the allegations.
Rick and Morty has been running for six series and has been renewed for a seventh.
A statement from Adult Swim said the successful cartoon would continue with Roiland.
It said: "Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland.
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"Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on season seven."
A criminal complaint filed by prosecutors in May 2020, and seen by NBC News, charged the comedy writer with corporal injury and false imprisonment by menace, fraud, and violence or deceit against a woman he was living with at the time.
She was not identified in court documents. Roiland has pleaded not guilty.
The charges concern an incident in January of 2020 and he was charged in May of that year.
However, it appears the charges went unnoticed by the media until they were reported by NBC News.
Further documents seen by outlet show Roiland was arrested and released on a $50,000 (£41,000) bond in August 2020 and returned to court in October 2020.
A protective order that was put in place in October 2020 and remains in effect until October 2023, says he must not harass, threaten or surveil the person named in the protective order, and cannot go within 100 feet of the person.
He was also ordered to turn in any firearms he owned or are in his possession.
Roiland's lawyer has insisted he is innocent and said that he is looking forward to clearing his name.
He is expected to return to court in April but a trial date has not yet been set.
