Adult Swim has announced that they have fired the Rick and Morty co-creator and voice actor Justin Roiland due to domestic abuse charges.
The 42-year-old director voiced the two titular characters Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith in the Emmy-winning animated sitcom about an elderly scientist and his grandson.
As reported by NBC News, Roiland has now been charged with "one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit," and has pleaded not guilty.
In the wake of these charges, the TV channel took to its Twitter page on Tuesday (January 24) to share a statement informing viewers that they have officially cut ties with Roiland.
Read their statement below:"Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland," they wrote. "Rick and Morty will continue. The talented and dedicated crew are hard at work on season seven."
Roiland created the show with Dan Harmon in 2013, and it won the Emmy for the best-animated program in 2018 and 2020. Although he will always be credited as co-creator, Harmon will now be the lone showrunner for the series that is expected to run until season 10.
According to Digital Spy, the producer appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, after which some details of the case were shared with the public. The charging document - which contains information regarding the allegations- is concealed.
The domestic incident in question is alleged to have happened in January 2020, per documents obtained by NBC News. The accuser has not been identified but authorities have said that they were "in a dating relationship" at the time.
The outlet states that Roiland was apprehended and released on bond in August 2020, and two months later, he was arraigned. A protective order was also submitted that month which said he was not to harass, threaten or surveil the person named in the protective order.
Also, the order states that the showrunner cannot go within 100 feet of the unidentified person and he is expected to return any possessed firearms. The protective order lasts until October 2023, and it’s not known who submitted the request for the order.
During the pre-trial hearing this month, the creator's legal team informed the case judge that a plea deal was available - although no further details were provided, per Digital Spy.
In addition to this, his attorney Edward Welbourn told BBC News that he has "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," Welbourn added. The voice actor is set to return to court in April, ahead of a trial, and he could face up to seven years in prison.
