Justin Roiland, creator of High On Life and co-creator of Rick and Morty has been charged with two counts of felony domestic violence with the creator pleading not guilty to both.
Roiland, 42, is one of the most prolific creators in adult comedy. For years, Roiland has been the shrill voice for characters like Lemongrab from Adventure Time, Blendin from Gravity Falls, and Oscar in Fish Hooks. Having co-created Rick and Morty with Dan Harmon, Roiland used the newfound fame from the show to launch projects of his own, namely Squanch Games. Squanch Games launched Trover Saves the Universe in 2019 and most recently, High On Life in 2022.
From documents obtained by NBC it has been revealed that Roiland was initially charged in 2020 with two charges, domestic battery with corporal injury and felony false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, or deceit. According to NBC, the alleged incident occurred on or around Jan 19 of 2020 with a formal criminal complaint being filed in May of that year. As stated, Roiland has pled not guilty. The complaining party is an anonymous person who is reported to be a former romantic partner of Roiland.
No trial date is currently set, but there have been several preliminary hearings since the complaint was formalized. Roiland was arrested in August 2020 but released on a $50,000 bond with an arraignment in October 2020. Additional documents filed were a protective order against the creative, meaning that he cannot surveil, harass, or threaten the complainant. He is to remain a minimum of 100 feet from her, and he must turn over any firearms in his possession as per red flag laws. This protective order lasts until October 2023, but the filing of the order remains sealed, so it is currently unknown who filed the order.
The case, while almost three years old, is still relatively vague as most of the documents are sealed. NBC was unable to gain access to body camera footage, police reports, abuse investigation reports, medical reports, recordings of interviews, and the arrest affidavit, as they are currently sealed by court order. At this time there has been no statement has been made by Roiland, Squantch Games, or Adult Swim.