On Tuesday, the official Twitter account for animated comedy Rick and Morty posted tweeted that Adult Swim had “ended its association with Justin Roiland,” the show’s co-creator and primary voice actor. The announcement comes 12 days after the news broke that Roiland had been charged (opens in new tab) with felony domestic violence and false imprisonment over an incident in early 2020.
After rising to prominence in comedy and animation with Rick and Morty, Roiland founded gaming studio Squanch Games, which released High on Life (opens in new tab) in December. Roiland served as CEO and also voiced Kenny, High on Life’s talking alien gun.
The Rick and Morty account’s tweet (opens in new tab) today is the first since January 10, shortly before the domestic violence charges against Roiland were made public. It’s brief, but states that “Rick and Morty will continue” with work on season seven ongoing. It makes no mention of who will replace Roiland as the voice actor for Rick, Morty, and a range of other characters.
Squanch Games hadn’t posted on its social media channels since January 11, but several hours after the Rick and Morty tweet above, it posted its own statement (opens in new tab) on Roiland’s actions. “On January 16, 2023, Squanch Games received Justin Roiland’s resignation. The passionate team at Squanch will keep developing games we know our fans will love while continuing to support and improve High on Life.” Roiland voices a number of secondary characters in High On Life as he does in Rick and Morty.
In May 2020 Roiland was charged with “felony domestic battery with corporal injury” and “felony false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit” according to NBC (opens in new tab), which broke the news. He plead not guilty to both charges in October 2020. The case has not yet gone to trial, and came to light when Roiland attended a pre-trial hearing this month. If convicted, Roiland could face several years in prison—in California, felony domestic violence can carry a sentence of up to four years. Felony false imprisonment can carry a sentence of up to three years.
This story has been updated with a statement from Squanch Games on Roiland’s resignation.
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