Overview

Justin Roiland Domestic Violence Charges refers to producer and voice actor Justin Roiland being charged with felony domestic violence in January 2023 in connection to a 2020 incident involving him and an unnamed party he was dating at the time. The news became a major topic of discussion on Twitter, spawning memes and jokes referencing Roiland's animated comedy Rick and Morty. In the following days, grooming allegations against Roiland also spread online as several social media users accusing him.

In March 2023, charges against Justin Roiland were dropped.

Background

On January 12th, 2023, NBC News published an exclusive article about Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland facing felony domestic violence charges.^[1] The charges are connected to a January 2020 incident involving Roiland and a woman whose name has not been disclosed, who he was dating at the time. A criminal complaint against Roiland, which charges him with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment, was filed in May 2020, with Roiland being arrested and released on a $50,000 bond in August 2020. The producer pleaded not guilty to both charges and was arraigned in October 2022.

Also on January 12th, 2023, NBC News tweeted^[2] a link to the article, with the tweet gaining over 900 retweets and 3,300 likes in one day (shown below). Later that day, other Twitter users and accounts, including @Phil_Lewis_ and @DiscussingFilm, also tweeted^[3][4] the article.

Developments

Grooming Allegations

On January 13th, 2023, as news spread of his domestic violence charges, grooming allegations began coming out against Justin Roiland online with several conversations being posted, purportedly of him messaging various women and some allegedly being underage.^[7]

According to tweets and other posts on social media, many alleged that DMs purportedly sent by Roiland show him attempting to engage in grooming or steering conversations toward sexual intercourse. For example, on January 13th, Twitter^[8] user AllieGoertz tweeted a series of DMs Roiland allegedly sent her, receiving over 5.2 million views and 24,000 likes in roughly two weeks (shown below).

Over the following days, several other Twitter users also shared alleged messages from Roiland as the grooming accusations became a prominent topic online (examples shown below).

Adult Swim Cuts Ties

On January 24th, 2023, Adult Swim made a post to Instagram and the @RickandMorty Twitter page announced that they would be cutting ties with Justin Roiland but continuing to produce Rick and Morty (shown below).

Charges Dropped

On March 22nd, 2023, Justin Roiland tweeted^[9] that the domestic violence charges against him were dropped (tweet shown below). In the post, he wrote that he was "determined to move forward and focus both on his creative projects and restoring his good name."

Online Reactions

Immediately following the news, viral discussions and memes about it started appearing online, primarily on Twitter. For example, on January 12th, 2023, Twitter^[5] user @arthandle tweeted a Shocked Black Guy meme that received 180 retweets and over 4,000 likes in one day (shown below, left). Also that day, voice actor @VoicesByZane posted a tweet^[6] imagining Justin Roiland speaking in Morty's voice while being shoved into a patrol car. The tweet received over 2,300 retweets and 19,900 likes in one day (shown below, right).

The news remained a viral subject of memes on Twitter throughout the following day.

Related Events

Rick and Morty Voice Recasting

Rick and Morty Voice Recasting refers to a series of social media posts about the expected voice actor change for season seven of the animated series Rick and Morty, which followed the announcement that Justin Roiland (the voice actor of both titular characters) was removed from the show after his domestic violence scandal and grooming allegations were raised against him in January 2023. Online, users reacted to the news by suggesting new actors for the role and submitting their own impressions, as well as posting memes and other jokes or parodies.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References