The star of That ’70s Show and The Ranch will go to prison for raping two women in the early 2000s.
Danny Mastersonface of the cult sitcom That ’70s Show and most recently in Netflix comedy The Ranch, from which he was fired following accusations of raping three women in the early 2000s, was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The sentence was handed down on Thursday, after the 47-year-old actor was found guilty in a retrial last May, the second after the first jury was unable to reach a verdict in 2022.
Danny Masterson, the charges and the sentence
Masterson, who last July, at the San Diego Comic-Con, was excluded from the promotional material for the 25th anniversary celebrations of That ’70s Shownor a few months earlier had he joined his former colleagues to reprise his role as Steven Hyde in the Netflix spin-off sequel That ’90s Showhad been accused in 2020 of sexual violence by three women, former members of Scientology, events that occurred between 2001 and 2003, during the years of the success of That ’70s Show on FOX. The actor had pleaded not guilty to all three charges, while the prosecution argued that he had relied on his status as a leading member of the Church of Scientology to avoid responsibility. Found guilty of two of the three counts of rape, during the reading of the sentence by the judge, Masterson remained silent, while his wife, the actress and model Bijou Phillips, she burst into tears. His brother was also present in the courtroom Christopher Masterson (Malcolm) and half-siblings Alanna Masterson (The Walking Dead) e Jordan Masterson (The man of the house), also actors.
“Mr. Masterson, you are not the victim here,” Judge Charlaine Olmedo said as she sentenced the actor in a downtown Los Angeles court. “His actions 20 years ago took away another person’s voice and choice. His actions 20 years ago were criminal, and that’s why you are here.” The judge sentenced Masterson to 15 years in prison on each of the two charges, ordering him to serve the warrants consecutively.