In the final phase of the debate, a media trial began against Danny Masterson, an actor best known for his role as Stephen Hyde on the comedy series “That ’70s Show”. Masterson is accused of forcibly raping three women in separate incidents between 2001 and 2003 at his Hollywood Hills home. If convicted, the actor could face a possible sentence of up to 45 years in state prison.
The three women who accused him are ex-partners or friends of Masterson’s who belonged to the same Church of Scientology as he was. According to Assistant District Attorney Reinhold Mueller, Masterson spiked the women’s drinks with an illegal substance before raping them, causing them to become dizzy, disoriented, and sometimes unconscious. However, Masterson’s attorney Philip Cohen denied the existence of any evidence to support this claim, saying that the women’s stories were confusing and contradictory.
This May 16, Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson remarked in closing arguments in the new rape trial that it all started “over a drink.”
“The defendants intoxicated their victims in order to gain control,” Anson continued in a closing argument that was distinguished by both its intensity and the brevity of its tone. “When he drugs them, he’s perfectly capable of controlling them…and he does it over and over again.”
“They want to hold these victims to an unreasonably high standard,” the prosecutor said of the defense led by Philip Cohen and Shawn Hawley. Claiming that the victims were being “branded as liars”, Anson theorized that this was all part of a plan to warn any possible potential accusers out of fear of harsh public and private consequences. They went.
Anson noted that each of the women had “a small amount of liquor” that Masterson had given them. Each was “completely shattered … so she could do whatever she wanted with it, and she did.”
Noting that each woman had “similar symptoms” and that “their memory is poor,” Anson said that the reason Masterson drugged them was because “if they chose to report, the defendants could discredit them. “
Masterson’s case has been controversial since an investigation was launched in 2017 after the women reported the facts to police. At that time, Netflix fired the actor from the series “The Ranch”, where he shared the cast with Ashton Kutcher. Masterson has denied the allegations, saying they are motivated by religious hatred of Scientology.
The first trial against Masterson was aborted in November 2022 after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The second trial begins in April 2023 and is expected to last for several weeks. Throughout the process, Masterson was supported by his wife, actress and model Bijou Phillips, and other family and friends.
