Charges Against Rick and Morty Co-Creator Dropped, But Will It Save His Reputation?

In January 2023, Rick and Morty fans were stunned by the news that Justin Roiland, co-creator and voice of two of the show's main protagonists, as well as several other characters, had been fired from the animated series and that his roles would be recast in future seasons.

He was also removed from other projects he was involved in, including Koala Man and Solar Opposites.

This chain of disasters happened because Roiland was arrested and charged with felony domestic violence and false imprisonment in 2020, resulting in him being released on bail after pleading not guilty.

Though these events were kept private until January, his situation only worsened after the conviction became public, with several other accusations of various kinds following.

Now, all charges against him have been dismissed by the Orange County District Attorney's Office for "insufficient evidence."

Roiland immediately celebrated by posting a statement on Twitter, saying that he always knew these allegations were false — and that he never doubted this would happen eventually.

He expressed his gratitude that the case was dismissed, but admitted his disappointment that so many people rushed to judgment without knowing the facts.

He concluded by saying that he is now ready to focus both on his creative projects and on restoring his good name.

Unfortunately for him, getting the charges dropped won't likely save his reputation, as many other of his misdeeds came to light after the charges were made, such as his harassment of female co-workers, his conflicts with the rest of the Rick and Morty team, and most notably, his highly controversial interactions with underage fans via direct messages that were leaked.

As sad as it is, fans have completely lost faith in him and are not the least bit impressed with this improvement in his situation.

As Reddit user LuinAelin pointed out:

"Charges dropped because they couldn't prove things beyond reasonable doubt not because he didn't do anything. Lots of domestic abuse cases end up like this because it's hard to prove things like this beyond reasonable doubt if it's he said she said."

Rick and Morty will continue without Justin Roiland. The release date for season seven has not yet been announced.