UNTIL recently, animator and voice actor Justin Roiland was best known for being the co-creator of popular comedy series Rick and Morty.
He even had a starring role, voicing the two main titular characters of the show – which he created with Dan Harmon.
However, earlier this week it emerged he will no longer work on the programme.
Cable TV channel Adult Swim tweeted they were completely cutting ties with the star, after he was charged with felony domestic abuse and false imprisonment.
The 42-year old vehemently denies all charges, with his lawyer saying: “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.”
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Abuse allegations
Roiland pleaded not guilty to felony counts of domestic battery with corporal injury and false imprisonment.
The charges come following a January 2020 incident involving an anonymous woman he was dating at the time, according to a criminal complaint seen by NBC News.
Roiland was arrested and bailed in 2020 on $50,000 bond after pleading not guilty, and a pre-trial is scheduled for April.
In a statement, one of Roiland’s attorneys wrote: “We look forward to clearing Justin’s name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible.”
Phenomenal success then fall from grace
Before the allegations came to light, Roiland’s career was going from strength to strength, and the voice actor enjoyed a decade of phenomenal success.
Rick and Morty first premiered in 2013 and gained huge worldwide acclaim, even winning two Emmy awards for outstanding animated series.
However, the cult fan-favourite series is not Roiland’s only commercial success.
He also created X-Box game High On Life which came out just last month, and guest starred in the likes of Adventure Time and Gravity Falls.
He also signed a deal with Hulu to create another animated sci-fi sitcom, called Solar Opposites, and in 2021 he released an NFT art collection, which sold for over $1.65 million.
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Cast aside
However, as the domestic abuse charges came to light, Roiland was quickly cast aside from his key role in Rick and Morty, which saw its sixth season premiere in September last year.
Posting on the show’s official Twitter account, the cable channel wrote: “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.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Roiland’s voice roles will be re-cast and Dan Harmon, who voices Birdperson, is to remain sole creator through to season 10.
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‘I never watched his show again’
The criminal charges are not the only accusations to recently come to light.
Soon after he was charged with domestic violence, US musician Allie Goertz tweeted a series of offensive private Twitter messages she allegedly received from the cartoonist.
Allie Tweeted screenshots of the messages she claimed were from Roiland, saying: “I’ll share the types of “funny” DMs Justin Roiland would send me.
“I was worried about any backlash but this dude made ME – someone who wrote a Rick & Morty concept album – never watch his show again”.
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