Rick and Morty’s Justin Roiland’s allegations

By Nicole Sanchez, Staff Writer

Justin Roiland was the co-creator of the hit cartoon show, Rick and Morty. The show premiered in 2013 and is now considered one of the best animated shows on television according to  IMDb. The show is about a mad scientist and his grandson who have adventures with space/time, the multiverse and interdimensional travel. The show has been running for six seasons with a total of 61 episodes. 

Before “Rick and Morty,” Roiland created “The Real Animated Adventures of Doc and Mharti” which was a parody of “Back to the Future.” This show inspired Roiland to create “Rick and Morty.” He was the character’s voice in the original parody and eventually became the voice of Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith, the eponymous characters of the hit show. 

In January 2020, an alleged violent incident occurred between Roiland and a woman he was dating at the time. There has not been much detail revealed to the public, but the criminal complaint was filed in May 2020, and the police arrested Roiland three months later in August. He was released on a $50,000 bond. 

In October, Roiland pleaded not guilty to two felony counts. One of them being domestic battery with corporal injury and one count of false imprisonment by menace, violent, fraud and/or deceit. If he is found guilty, he faces a potential prison sentence for his actions. There have been multiple court hearings but there is no scheduled date for his trial. There is a restraining order filed against him which specifies that he is not allowed within 100 feet of the victim; this order will last until October 2023. His attorney said a plea deal is on the table.  

Roiland released a statement through his lawyer. 

“It’s hard to overstate how inaccurate the recent media coverage of this situation has been. To be clear, not only is Justin innocent but we also have every expectation that this matter is on course to be dismissed once the District Attorney’s office has completed its methodical review of the evidence. We look forward to clearing Justin’s name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible,” it read. 

Fans of the show on campus expressed shock and heartbreak at the news.

“It’s honestly so heart wrenching to hear something like this. I love watching Rick and Morty, and the fact that the person behind the characters could do something like this. I don’t know how this managed to stay out of the public eye for almost three years too, like how did I just heard about this,” junior marketing major Lisa Raymond said. 

Abuse is not the only thing Roiland is being accused of. There were many women who came forward with screenshots of inappropriate conversations with Roiland. An example of one conversation was with Roiland and a 16-year-old girl. It was explicit and they discussed sexual exploration. He told her she was “hot” and “jail bait,” he also told her that once she turned 18, she should take up “cam whoring,” which is someone who performs sexual acts online.

Fans of the show were disgusted by these revelations.

“It’s gross,” freshman business administration major Lilian Ferguson said. “He is literally talking to a minor… a grown man having sexual conversations with a 16-year-old girl, it’s sickening. I do hope the show decides to let him go.”  

Since Roiland’s arrest, Adult Swim and “Rick and Morty” released a statement about Roiland’s accusations.

“Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland. Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on Season 7,” the statement read.  

Fans have taken to Twitter and TikTok expressing their thoughts on how differently the voices of the main characters will be with Roiland and if the show will survive its creativity without him.

“I’m nervous to see how the voices pan out. Each character has such a distinctive voice that I don’t know how someone else can carry that torch,” senior finance major Elijah Stout said. “It’s one of my favorite shows, and I don’t plan on stopping to watch it.” 

Although Roiland may have co-founded the show, there is an entire other founder. The last time Roiland was credited for writing an episode was in 2017. Season seven is in production and fans will have to take the wait-and-see approach.