Rick And Morty Co-Creator Justin Roiland Faces Felony Domestic Violence Charges

Star and co-creator of Rick and Morty, Justin Roiland, has been charged with felony domestic violence in Orange County, California, in connection with a 2020 incident. A criminal complaint was filed in May 2020 by the Orange County District Attorney. Roiland appeared in court on January 12 for a pre-trial hearing where Roiland's attorney confirmed there is a plea offer available to him, but did not discuss details.

The court will convene again on April 27 and Roiland was ordered to attend that hearing as well.

NBC News reported that Roiland pleaded not guilty to the incident in 2020. The charges include one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit. A trial date has not been set.

Roiland was arrested and released on a $50,000 bond in August 2020 and arraigned in October 2020. A protective order was filed in October 2020, and it states that Roiland is not to harass, threaten, or surveil the person named in the protective order--whose identity is not publicly known. In addition to those rulings, Roiland cannot go within 100 feet of the person, and it also ordered him to turn in any firearms he owned or possessed. The order lasts until October 2023. NBC also noted that Roiland and his attorneys didn't respond for comment.

Rick and Morty has created a billion-dollar franchise that spans across toys, video games, action figures, and clothing and is one of the most popular adult television comedies. The Adult Swim show's latest season aired in September 2022, with a seventh season ordered by Cartoon Network as part of a long-term deal for 70 new episodes.

Along with the success of Rick and Morty, Roiland also released High On Life, a video game that he developed through his studio Squanch Games in late 2022. It quickly became the top-selling game on Steam and the fourth most-played Xbox game the week of its debut.

GameSpot has reached out to Squanch Games and Xbox for comment.

Image credit: Getty Images/Michael Kovac/Contributor