Nearly two months after NBC News exposed a pair of felonies against Justin Roiland in January 2020, Rick and Morty maker says the case against him has been dismissed. He eventually publicly responded to the allegations against him in a statement on Twitter.
“I always knew these claims were false — and I never doubted that this day would come,” Roiland wrote. “I am grateful that this case has been dropped, but at the same time I am still deeply shocked by the terrible lies that have been told about me during this trial. Most of all, I’m disappointed that so many people were so quick to judge without knowing the facts, based solely on the word of an embittered ex who tried to evade due process and get me “cancelled.” That it might have succeeded, even partially, is embarrassing. However, now that the lawsuit has ended, I am determined to move on and focus on both my creative projects and restoring my good name.”
Court documents obtained by Polygon from the Superior Court of California show that a hearing scheduled for Wednesday has been canceled. A spokesman for the district attorney confirmed to Polygon that Roiland’s case had been dismissed for “insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt”.
In August 2020, Roiland was arrested, charged with one count of “domestic battery with bodily harm” and one count of “false imprisonment by threat, violence, fraud and/or deceit”, and was eventually released on $50,000 bail. Roiland pleaded not guilty to both charges at an arraignment in October. Details of the case were sealed for confidentiality; it wasn’t until 2023 that the circumstances came to light.
While Roiland plans to continue his creative work, it’s unclear how the case update will change his relationships with major studios. In January, 20th TV Animation and Hulu Originals issued a joint statement saying, “We have terminated our partnership with Justin Roiland,” which is Hulu’s Solar Opposites And koala man.
“Adult Swim has ended its partnership with Justin Roiland,” a spokesperson said Rick and Morty stated at the time. The Squanch Games team was looking forward to the answer: “Squanch’s passionate team will continue to develop games that we know our fans will love, as we continue to support and improve High in life”, which had just been released following the largest single-player game launch in Game Pass history.
Polygon has reached out to Adult Swim, Hulu, and Squanch for additional clarification and comment. We will update this story as spokespersons respond.
