Poll of the Day > Prosecutors drop charges against Rick & Morty co-creator Justin Roiland

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/arts/justin-roiland-charges.html

The animated show severed ties with Justin Roiland, one of its co-creators, in January after reports that he faced charges of domestic abuse.

Prosecutors in California dismissed domestic abuse charges against Justin Roiland, a co-creator and former star of the animated comedy Rick and Morty, after determining that there was not enough evidence to prove them in court, the Orange County District Attorneys Office said on Wednesday.

Mr. Roiland was charged in 2020 with domestic battery and false imprisonment of a woman he had been dating. The felony charges did not emerge publicly until January, when NBC News reportedthem.

Later that month, Adult Swim, the nighttime adult programming block for Cartoon Network, which distributes Rick and Morty, announced that it had ended its association with the actor, who voiced both main characters the mad scientist Rick Sanchez and his grandson, Morty Smith over six seasons.

A spokeswoman for the district attorneys office, Kimberly Edds, said Wednesday that prosecutors had made the decision to dismiss the case after additional information came to light, which she declined to specify. Mr. Roiland had pleaded not guilty to the charges and previously had a court hearing scheduled for next month.

In a statement posted to Twitter on Wednesday, Mr. Roiland said that he was thankful for the dismissal but deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process.

Most of all, Im 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, Mr. Roiland said in the statement. He added that he was determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name.

When Mr. Roiland left Rick and Morty this year, an executive at Warner Bros. Discovery, which owns Cartoon Network, said that the title characters would be recast for the seventh season.

A person familiar with discussions about the shows future who was granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations said the show did not plan to revisit the decision to sever ties with Mr. Roiland.

Mr. Roiland, 43, was also removed from the animated Hulu comedy Solar Opposites, which he co-created and starred in, this year, and he resigned from the video game studio that he co-founded.

In his statement on Wednesday, Mr. Roiland said he had always known that the claims against him were false and never had any doubt that this day would come.

Not a fan of his or the show but his statement is odd to me. Curious if he'll pursue a defamation case, and why he wouldn't announce as much. Maybe it's a bit premature to make that move but I would think if you're truly innocent and want to clear your name you'd seize the momentum from this decision and make a public show of your intentions

MeatiestMeatus posted...

Not a fan of his or the show but his statement is odd to me. Curious if he'll pursue a defamation case, and why he wouldn't announce as much. Maybe it's a bit premature to make that move but I would think if you're truly innocent and want to clear your name you'd seize the momentum from this decision and make a public show of your intentions

Legally speaking, usually not a good idea to go dick-swinging and make a spectacle of your intentions. He is probably talking it over with his lawyers and will pursue legal action if it makes sense.

He's got a fairly real argument for defamation, you can clearly draw a line from the charges to his loss of income.

shadowsword87 posted...

He's got a fairly real argument for defamation, you can clearly draw a line from the charges to his loss of income.

Only if he can prove what was alleged was false. The threshold for proving defamation is really high. Just because criminal charges were dropped doesn't mean he didn't actually do what was alleged.

Yeah I'm not so sure the dude is squeaky clean especially when you start digging into all those private messages that came to light. Charges being dismissed does not equate to innocence and even if he were innocent he still has to reconcile all those creepy messages to underage girls, telling that one woman who opened up about her trauma that he had "kinks" about that sort of thing, etc etc. Wonder what sorta stuff would come to light in a defamation suit...

MeatiestMeatus posted...

Yeah I'm not so sure the dude is squeaky clean especially when you start digging into all those private messages that came to light. Charges being dismissed does not equate to innocence and even if he were innocent he still has to reconcile all those creepy messages to underage girls, telling that one woman who opened up about her trauma that he had "kinks" about that sort of thing, etc etc. Wonder what sorta stuff would come to light in a defamation suit...

Yeah does he really want to go through the discovery process? With everything that has already come out?

MeatiestMeatus posted...

Most of all, Im 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, Mr. Roiland said in the statement. He added that he was determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name.

Ok, Roiland, why don't we just talk about pedophilia, then? You know, the real reason everyone hates you. Or are all those kids just bitter ex's too?

Stay out of the public light.

Yellow posted...

pedophilia

Suddenly, that prototype pilot seems to make a lot more sense.

Justin shows his face on Twitter and has the nerve to say he was unfairly treated

https://twitter.com/JustinRoiland/status/1638629789258100737

Ok, explain the sexting with minors, they're all liars? Is that what we're saying?