Posted in: Adult Swim, Hulu, Rick and Morty, streaming, TV | Tagged: Adult Swim, hulu, Justin Roiland, rick and morty, solar opposites

Justin Roiland Attorney: NBC Report Allegations "False and Defamatory"

Justin Roiland's attorney called the NBC News report claims "false and defamatory," referring back to Roiland's statement from March 2023.

On Thursday, NBC News went live with a report based on interviews with a number of individuals who spoke with the news organization, claiming that Hulu's Solar Opposites & Adult Swim's Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland had allegedly used his fame to pursue young fans – in some instances, fans who were under age. In the report, NBC News references receiving a letter from Andrew Brettler, a lawyer representing Roiland, addressing a number of the allegations, noting that some of them were previously posted online while calling the claims in the report "false and defamatory." As a follow-up, Variety also reached out to Brettler for a comment, who had a new response – but one that directed them to an old response from Roiland.

Back in January of this year, we learned that Roiland had been charged with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury & one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit. Shortly after, Adult Swim, Squanch Games, Disney & 20th TV Animation cut their respective ties with Roiland. In March, we learned that the domestic violence charges against Roiland were dismissed "as a result of having insufficient evidence to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt," said Kimberly Edds, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney's Office. Roiland would go on to post a response to the legal decision – the same response that Brettler is referring the media to now.

"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," Roiland shared in an Instagram post (see below). "Most of all, I'm disappointed that so many people were so quick to judge without knowing the facts, based solely on the word of an embittered ex trying to bypass due process and have me 'canceled.' That it may have succeeded, even partially, is shameful. However, now that the legal case has ended, I'm determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name."

Justin Roiland & NBC News: An Overview

Released on Wednesday, the report was based on interviews with 11 women & nonbinary people "who shared thousands of messages with Roiland from 2013 to 2022," with nine individuals claiming that Roiland "turned the exchanges sexual" – and three of them claiming they were 16 years old at the time when they began communicating with Roiland. In addition, one individual alleges that Roiland "sexually assaulted" her while on a date, while another claimed that "Roiland took advantage of her" and that the incident "left her mentally traumatized." Along with text messages, NBC News adds that the 11 individuals also offered pictures, videos, social media posts, emails, and other items to help corroborate their claims.

As for those who spoke for the report, NBC News says that most of the interviewees came forward after the news about Roiland hit back in January – with seven individuals having previously posted screencaps of the exchanges with Roiland online (and sharing "additional message history and screen recordings of their messages, or otherwise showed that Roiland had followed them on social media or shared pictures with him to back up the authenticity of the messages").

One individual who spoke with NBC News was Janna Waters, who is nonbinary. Waters claims that they were 16 years old and in high school at the time when 35-year-old Roiland began communicating with them in 2016. "At first, I really thought this guy wanted to be my friend, and I really needed friends at the time," Waters shared during a phone interview with NBC News (while also offering screecaps of their exchanges over the years to verify their story). "He was a grown man, I was a teenage girl." Another individual, Veronika Sweeney, explained that she came forward with her allegations after seeing in the press that what she was experiencing was apparently part of a larger pattern when it came to how Roiland allegedly operated. "Seeing all of them compounded with the sheer number of girls who have come out, and some were underage, that's why I posted my DMs," Sweeney explained. "What's concerning is the pattern of behavior." Looking at the claims and alleged corroborating proof collectively, NBC News reporter Kat Tenbarge and the team offered what they claim is a pattern to how Roiland would approach "similar conversations with various women at the same time" – writing:

Roiland would sometimes initiate a conversation that would start with him responding to questions or praise about "Rick and Morty" or making small talk. He would sometimes apologize for being drunk or too forward as he moved the conversations toward asking for sexual photos or to meet up. He said multiple times that he didn't mean to come off as creepy and didn't have bad intentions before asking for photos and meetups again.

Roiland usually asked people how old they were, if they were single, and if they were "into girls." In three cases, when the person said they were under 18, Roiland would message them again months or years later. Those three conversations started with people who said they were 16 at the time, and continued for years, until they were 18 and older.

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