Justin Roiland, the creator of the popular TV series Rick and Morty and the recently released High on Life, has been charged with domestic violence against a former girlfriend.
In May 2020, the Orange County District Attorney filed a criminal complaint against Roiland, according to documents obtained by NBC News from the Orange County Superior Court. The complaint alleges that Roiland faces one felony charge of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony charge of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deception.
In August 2020, Justin Roiland was incarcerated for 100 days, after which, in October of the same year, he entered a plea of not guilty on the two charges against him. He was permitted to be released on a $50,000 bond.
According to NBC News, incidents between Justin Roiland and the victim occurred on January 19th of that same year. In October 2020, a protective order was filed against Roiland, restraining him from harassing, threatening, surveilling, or being within 100 feet of anyone protected by the order. Additionally, he was required to surrender any firearms that he owned or possessed. The protective order will remain in effect until October 2023.
This news comes just as the most recent project, High on Life, a first-person shooter game created by Squanch Games, gained popularity on Xbox’s Game Pass subscription service. Even that title has faced its share of controversy due to its use of an AI generator for poster art and vocal performances, with at least one character using the technology past just prototyping.
Under a protective order, additional details of the Domestic Violence case have been withheld. A hearing concerning the case has been scheduled for April 27th, and Roiland is expected to be present.
