Danny Masterson Goes on Trial for Rape as Scientology Looms in the Background

A former high-ranking official in the Church of Scientology said Friday that the organization never forgets its enemies “until they are destroyed,” and he said that filmmaker Paul Haggis, who quit Scientology, remains one of its biggest targets. 

UPDATED with afternoon session: A Los Angeles police officer testified Thursday during Danny Masterson’s rape trial that while didn’t remember the specifics of an initial meeting with Jane Doe #1 in 2004 at the LAPD Hollywood station, he did take her claims about being attacked by Masterson in his Hollywood Hills home in April 2003 “to be a sexual assault.”

Determined to expunge almost any mention of Scientology from Danny Masterson’s rape trial, defense attorney Phillip Cohen told the jury from the beginning that consistency would be core of his client’s case. That vow was very much on display Thursday as the lawyer sought to spotlight the supposed inconsistencies in the testimony of Jane Doe #3.  

The beginning of the second week of testimony in Danny Masterson’s rape trial hurtled towards another request from the defense for a mistrial.

The final day of the first full week of testimony in Danny Masterson’s multiple rape trial Friday may have started a bit later than usual, but things got fiery pretty quick.

A woman broke down on the witness stand Wednesday while giving graphic testimony about a 2003 night when she said she emerged from unconsciousness to find actor Danny Masterson raping her. She is the first of three women who say Masterson raped them to testify during his Los Angeles trial. She said at one point she grabbed Masterson's hair to try to pull him away, but he shoved a pillow into her face.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer The first witness in the Danny Masterson trial broke down in tears on Wednesday as she told jurors that the actor had raped her in April 2003. The woman, who prefers to be identified as Jane Doe #1, testified that she remembered waking up in Masterson’s bed, with him on top of her and penetrating her. She said she tried to shove him away with a pillow, but he grabbed her wrists with one hand and grabbed her throat with the other. “I just couldn’t breathe,” she said, crying and daubing her face with a tissue. “He squeezed really, really hard.” She added that she felt “that I was going to die.”

The second day of testimony in the Los Angeles rape trial of Danny Masterson heard evidence of an alleged second sexual assault on a fellow member of his Scientology social circle by the ex-That ’70s Show star .  

Danny Masterson, former star of the long-running sitcom “That ’70s Show”, is about to face three women in court who say he raped them two decades ago at a trial whose key figures are all current or former members of the Church of Scientology.

A prosecutor described rape allegations by three women Tuesday against "That ’70s Show" actor Danny Masterson from two decades ago that contained some of the same disturbing elements. Two women became woozy or passed out after a couple drinks and were tossed in his hot tub, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said in his opening statement in Masterson's trial.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter A jury has been selected in the Paul Haggis rape trial, which is set to begin with opening remarks on Wednesday morning in New York City. Haggis, the Oscar-winning director of “Crash” and screenwriter of “Million Dollar Baby,” has been accused of raping a publicist named Haleigh Breest after a movie premiere nearly a decade ago. Breest’s lawsuit was filed in 2017 in the wake of the #MeToo movement, which led to an influx of sexual assault allegations against prominent men. Haggis has claimed the encounter, which took place in 2013, was consensual and maintains the rape charge came in retaliation for his decision to leave and then criticize the Church of Scientology. Prior to the trial, Breest’s attorneys sought to block Haggis from arguing that Scientology was orchestrating the allegations in retaliation, saying that Breest and other witnesses have no connection to the church. They also argued that pursuing that line of defense will distract the jury from the particulars of Breest’s allegations. But in September, Judge Sabrina Kraus ruled that Haggis will be able to use that argument.

That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson‘s rape trial began today (October 18) with opening statements.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Scientology was front and center on Tuesday as the rape trial against “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson began with opening statements. Masterson is a Scientologist and each of his alleged victims was a Scientologist at the time of the alleged rapes, which span from 2001 to 2003. Reinhold Mueller, the lead prosecutor, made several references in his opening statement to church terminology and practices in explaining why two of the accusers delayed reporting to the police. “They can declare you a suppressive person,” Mueller said. “You are essentially an enemy of the church. Your friends, your parents — if you have children who are part of the church — they all have to detach from you. Essentially you lose everything.”

"That ‘70s Show" actor Danny Masterson is set to face three women in court who said he allegedly raped them between 2001 and 2003.  The 46-year-old actor, who is also a Scientologist, has been accused of allegedly raping the women in his Hollywood Hills home amid his rise to fame. He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.  The three women were members of the Church of Scientology; however, they have left since Masterson’s alleged actions.  The "Ranch" actor has been free on a $3.3 million bond since his June 2020 arrest. Opening statements could begin as early as Tuesday in the Los Angeles trial of Masterson, and while a judge has expressed her determination not to have the church become the center of the proceedings, it will inevitably loom large.

With a jury finally selected and seated, Danny Masterson’s trial on multiple rape charges began today with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office putting the Church of Scientology front and center. 

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Attorneys are set to give opening statements in the Danny Masterson rape trial on Tuesday, as a jury is expected to be chosen by mid-morning. Over the last week, the initial pool of 225 potential jurors has been narrowed to about 85. On Monday, the defense and the prosecution began to question the potential jurors in open court — in what is called voir dire — after an initial round of screening from Judge Charlaine Olmedo. One of the key questions has been how much the potential jurors know about Scientology. Masterson is a Scientologist and each of his three accusers was a Scientologist at the time of the alleged rape. The accusers — now all ex-Scientologists — have said that they delayed going to the police out of concern that they could be excommunicated.

raping three women in separate incidents in 2001 and 2003 at his Hollywood Hills home. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the DA's office declined to file sexual assault charges against the former "The Ranch" star in two other investigations due to insufficient evidence in one case and because the statute of limitations had passed for the other.

Gene Maddaus Senior Media Writer Jury selection got underway on Tuesday in the case of Danny Masterson, the former “That ’70s Show” actor who is facing 45 years to life on three charges of rape. The selection process is expected to take about a week. The attorneys will ask the prospective jurors about their feelings on the #MeToo movement and the Church of Scientology, which will play a significant role in the trial. The defense is particularly concerned that jurors will come into court with a negative view of the church. “We have almost a perfect storm of prejudice in this case,” defense attorney Karen Goldstein said on Monday.

Actor Anthony Rapp was back on the witness stand today in the sexual misconduct civil trial of two-time Oscar winner Kevin Spacey. It’s Day 3 of testimony in the $40 million lawsuit being tried in U.S. Supreme Court in Lower Manhattan, after taking Monday off for the holiday.

three charges of forcible rape and a potential sentence of 45 years to life. He’s a longtime member of the church, and all three of his accusers were also members at the time of the alleged assaults. At a pretrial hearing last week, Judge Charlaine Olmedo reportedly said about the proceedings, “This is not going to become a trial on Scientology.”However, with Masterson and the alleged victims all having ties to the church, it’s impossible to avoid.