‘Rick And Morty,’ ‘Solar Opposites’ Co-Creator Justin Roiland Charged With Felony Domestic Violence, False Imprisonment

Justin Roiland, co-creator and star of Rick and Morty and Solar Opposites and executive producer of the just-released Koala Man, has been charged with felony domestic violence relating to an incident that allegedly took place in 2020.

What are the charges? According to a criminal complaint obtained by NBC News, Roiland, 42, is being charged with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and another felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit. The alleged incidents are said to have occurred in January 2020 against an unnamed Jane Doe whom Roiland was dating at the time.

What happened after the accusations? Roiland was charged by the Orange County District Attorney in May of 2020. He was then arrested in August 2020, released on a $50,000 bond, and arraigned in October 2020. At that time, a protective order was filed which prohibits Roiland from harassing, threatening, or surveilling the person protected by the order, and he is not allowed within 100 feet of that person. Roiland was also ordered to turn in any firearms that he owned or possessed. The protective order lasts until October of this year.

And since then? In the three years since the charges were first made, the case against Roiland has slowly progressed including more than a dozen court hearings and pre-trial hearings. On Thursday of this week, Roiland appeared in court for another pretrial hearing. A trial date has not yet been set. Meanwhile, Roiland’s career has expanded significantly since 2020. He debuted Solar Opposites and Koala Man, produced two NFT collections – one of which sold for more than $1.65 million, began selling his paintings, and launched a best-selling new video game called High on Life from his studio Squanch Games.

What’s next? At the conclusion of Thursday’s brief hearing, the court agreed to reconvene on April 27, with Roiland ordered to attend. According to Roiland’s attorney, T. Edward Welbourn, his client has been offered a plea deal, the details of which are still private.

What’s being said? In a statement provided to the L.A. Times, Welbourn said:

It is 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.

At this time, nobody at Warner Bros. Discovery (Rick and Morty), The Walt Disney Company (Solar Opposites, Koala Man), or Squanch Games (High on Life) has commented publicly on the situation.