California prosecutors on Wednesday dropped domestic violence charges against Justin Roiland, who created the Cartoon Network animated series “Rick and Morty” and provided the voices for the show’s two main characters.
Orange County District Attorney spokeswoman Kimberly Edds said the two counts involving a former girlfriend were dropped ‘due to a lack of sufficient evidence beyond a reasonable doubt’ .
Roiland responded to the dismissal on Twitter.
“I always knew those claims were false – and I never doubted that day would come,” he said. “I am grateful that this case has been closed but, at the same time, I am still deeply shaken by the horrific lies that have been told about me during this process.”
He added that he was ‘disappointed that so many people were so quick to judge without knowing the facts, based solely on the word of a bitter ex trying to circumvent due process and get me ‘cancelled’.” .
Roiland, 43 years old, awaiting trial charged with bodily harm and forcible confinement by threat, fraud, violence or deceit against the woman he was living with at the time. She was not identified in court documents.
The charges dated back to May 2020, but they apparently went unnoticed by the media until NBC News reported on it in January of this year.
Roiland and Dan Harmon created the animated sci-fi sitcom about a mad scientist and his grandson, both voiced by Roiland. It aired for six seasons on Cartoon Network as part of its Adult Swim nighttime programming block, and it was renewed for a seventh.
Adult Swim and Cartoon Network cut ties with him when the charges were reported and said his roles would be recast. 20th Television Animation and Hulu The Originals, which produces two other anime series Roiland worked on, did the same.
The companies declined to comment on Wednesday.
In his tweet, Roiland said he was “committed to moving forward and focusing on both my creative endeavors and restoring my reputation.”