Justin Roiland, co-creator of the acclaimed animated series “Rick and Morty,” is facing new allegations of sexual misconduct, including that he sexually assaulted a woman, and engaged in inappropriate communication with minors.
In an article, published Wednesday by NBC and citing several unnamed women, Roiland was also accused of pressuring dates to have sex, taking advantage of his fame to pursue younger fans, and plying dates with alcohol, among other things.
The accusations are unrelated to the accusations of domestic violence against Roiland, which were dismissed by a judge in March.
Roiland’s attorney, Andrew Brettler, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap. However, Brettler told NBC that the accusations are “false and defamatory.”
NBC says it interviewed 11 women and nonbinary people, and examined “thousands” of messages said to have been sent between 2013 and 2023. Among the most serious accusation, a woman said Roiland forced her to perform oral sex on him after she refused.
A different woman said she was flown out to Los Angeles by Roiland, where she says he provided alcohol to her and pressured her to have sex with him and another woman.
NBC said it observed messages sent by Roiland later apologizing to both women.
9 different women also told NBC that Roiland took things in a sexual direction after initiating long distance communication with them. Three of the people NBC spoke to said they were minors at the time. According to NBC, messages the network examined corroborate those accounts.
Roland’s deals with Adult Swim, 20th TV Animation, and Hulu Originals were ended in January after he was charged in Orange County, California with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment. The charges followed a criminal complaint by an anonymous Jane Doe, who was who was formerly an intimate partner of Roiland’s.
The case was dismissed in March “as a result of having insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt,” a spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s office said at the time.
Besides “Rick and Morty,” Roiland co-created the Hulu animated series “Solar Opposites.” Both shows have continued without his involvement.