Rick and Morty's Justin Roiland Allegedly Used Fame to Pursue Young Fans (Report)

The year began with the bombshell news that Rick and Morty co-creator and voice actor Justin Roiland would be charged with Felony Domestic Battery, resulting in him being fired or having ties severed from nearly every creative endeavor that he was attached to. Adult Swim was quick to cut ties with Roiland, forcing the series to seek a new voice actor for its two title characters. Reports would later reveal that Roiland's involvement in Rick and Morty had been minimal for many years. Roiland resigned from his game company, and Disney/Hulu cut ties with him as well. Though the charges against Roiland were dropped, a new report sheds more light on what Roiland was allegedly doing with his fame.

NBC News published the expose this afternoon, confirming details from 11 women and nonbinary people who, "shared thousands of messages with Roiland from 2013 to 2022 with nine of the people saying he turned the exchanges sexual." According to the report, three of these nine were 16 at the time that they started speaking with Roiland. One of the women also alleged that Roiland sexually assaulted them on a Tinder date, "forcing her to perform oral sex" after she told him "no," according to the report.

Though the Domestic Battery charges against Roiland were dropped in March of this year, with the Orange County District Attorney's office noting it was because of insufficient evidence, Roiland was largely removed from all of his professional endeavors by that time. However, the news of the charges also started a tidal wave of fans detailing their encounters with Roiland online and in person to share their own stories. Even with that public reveal from some, NBC's report includes details from "four people who did not post their messages online" who also revealed them to the outlet.

Another woman revealed to NBC that Roiland "offered to pay for a round-trip flight to Los Angeles to stay with him" when they were only 17. "It took someone else pointing out that his behavior was creepy and inappropriate before I truly realized what I had been through," they revealed. "Since before day one I was just another conquest to him. I think what hurts me most is the fact that he wasn't actually my friend."

When the charges against Roiland were dropped he released his first, and so far only, statement on the accusations, writing: "I have always known that these claims were false -- and I never had any doubt that this day would come. I'm thankful that this case has been dismissed but, at the same time, I'm still deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process."

To date, no other charges have been filed against Roiland, but his hit series Rick and Morty continues without him, seeking new voice actors to take on the roles. It hasn't yet been confirmed who will be playing the part of the two characters, or filling in the many other voices that Roiland contributed to the show in the past, but season 7 of Rick and Morty will premiere this October on Adult Swim, meaning an announcement is likely imminent. 

Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for IMDb)