Rick and Morty Co-Creator Says Charges Were 'False'

The Orange County District Attorney's Office says it has dropped felony domestic violence charges against Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland after deciding it couldn't prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The decision was made "as a result of having insufficient evidence," Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, tells NPR. Roiland, 43, was charged with domestic battery and false imprisonment in May 2020 but the charges weren't publicly reported until earlier this year, prompting Rick and Morty distributor Adult Swim to cut its ties with him.

In a tweet, Roiland said he had "always known that these claims were false." He said he was "deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process," the Guardian reports. He added: "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 trying to bypass due process and have me ‘canceled.'"

Roiland—who voiced both Rick and Morty on the show for six seasons—said he was "determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name." After the charges became public, Adult Swim said the show would continue without Roiland. A source tells the New York Times that the show doesn't plan to "revisit the decision to sever ties with Mr. Roiland" despite the charges being dismissed. Hulu dropped Roiland from two shows, Solar Opposites and Koala Man, in January and it's not clear whether he will be reinstated. (More Justin Roiland stories.)