Featured Image Credit: Sipa US/Alamy/Adult Swim
Topics: Film and TV, Entertainment, US News, Rick and Morty, Adult Swim
Dominic Smithers
Topics: Film and TV, Entertainment, US News, Rick and Morty, Adult Swim
Rick and Morty's co-creator has been dropped from more shows following news that he had been charged with domestic abuse.
Justin Roiland was kicked off the hit cartoon after it was revealed he had been in court over domestic violence charges, which stemmed from allegations made back in 2020.
The complaint was filed in May of that year by the Orange County District Attorney.
Roiland pleaded not guilty to one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit.
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And the writer recently appeared before his first pre-trial hearing.
As a result of the allegations, the 42-year-old was relieved of his position on Rick and Morty, with Adult Swim later cutting ties with him completely.
The channel distributes the series, which centres on a multiverse-jumping megalomaniac called Rick (voiced by Roiland) and his nephew sidekick Morty (also voiced by Roiland).
In a statement released earlier this week, Adult Swim/Cartoon Network/Boomerang Senior VP Communications Marie Moore said: "Adult Swim has ended its association with Justin Roiland."
However, despite the news, the channel confirmed that it would be continuing with the cult series and looking for another voice actor.
Roiland has now also been sacked by Hulu, and therefore lost two more of his series.
The channel confirmed that he would no longer be involved with Solar Opposites and Koala Man, and that the series would be recasting for the roles he held on them both.
Speaking to TVLine, a spokesperson for 20th Century Television said: "We have ended our association with Justin Roiland."
Roiland’s lawyer, T. Edward Welbourn said in a statement earlier this month that coverage of the charges against Roiland has been 'inaccurate'.
“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," he said.
Despite his dismissal from Adult Swim, fans of Rick and Morty believe they may have found the perfect replacement for Roiland.
Within hours of Adult Swim's announcement, fans stormed social media to demand that TikTok creator Sean Kelly got the role.
Kelly (@seankellysays) has made a name for himself - particularly among the Rick and Morty fans - for his almost spot-on impressions of Roiland's characters.
"There’s only one obvious choice and it’s Sean Kelly," tweeted one fan after news broke of Roiland being dropped from the series.