That ‘70s Show star Danny Masterson’s wife has broken down in court as he was sentenced to the next three decades in jail for raping two women.
Danny Masterson’s wife, US actress and model Bijou Phillips, was seen breaking down in court as the actor’s jail conviction was read out.
The That ‘70s Show star, 47, who has been married to Phillips, 43, since 2011, was on Thursday sentenced to 30 years behind bars for raping two women in his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003, after being found guilty at his retrial in the Los Angeles Superior Court.
“One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions, and their consequences,” Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedoe told Masterson.
Phillips, who has stood by Masterson throughout the lengthy proceedings, sobbed into a handkerchief during the sentencing, and was comforted by members of the Church of Scientology – of which she’s a devout member alongside her husband.
Masterson blew his wife a kiss as he was escorted from the courtroom and taken to prison, where he will spend the next three decades of his life.
Phillips, who starred in prominent 2000s films including Almost Famous and Havoc, began dating Masterson in 2004 and welcomed a daughter with him in 2014.
A source told People in June that Phillips – the daughter of musicians John Phillips and Geneviève Waïte – would stick by Masterson’s side regardless of the outcome.
“No matter what happens though, Bijou supports him,” the source said. “She has no plans to leave him.”
Masterson pleaded not guilty to raping three women in his first trial in October, which ended in a mistrial a month later after the jury couldn’t reach a decision.
His legal team worked to get the case dismissed but were unsuccessful, with the retrial commencing in May.
Prosecutors told the jury that Masterson drugged two women’s drinks so he could rape them and used his affiliation with the Church of Scientology – where the women were also members at the time – to avoid repercussions.
One of the accusers was Masterson’s then-girlfriend of five years, who said she woke up to find him raping her and had to pull his hair to stop him.
When the women – listed in court documents as Jen B and N Trout – reported Masterson to Scientology officials, they were told they were not raped and were put through an ethics program.
They told the court that Scientology officials also warned them not to report the crime to the police because Masterson was such a high-ranking member of the church.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the rape of a third woman, listed as Chrissy B, who was Masterson’s longtime girlfriend.
Masterson seen with his lawyer Thomas Mesereau when he was arraigned on rape charges on September 18, 2020. Picture: Lucy Nicholson – Pool/Getty Images
Masterson didn’t testify and his lawyers didn’t call for any witnesses, however, the defence argued that his interactions with the women were consensual.
Masterson was never charged with any counts of drugging, and with no toxicology evidence to back up the women’s story, the issue will likely play a factor in Masterson’s plan to appeal the verdict.
Masterson, who was known for playing Steven Hyde on That ‘70s Show, was charged in 2020 with victims alleging that the incidents happened between 2001 to 2003, during his stint on the beloved sitcom.
Masterson starred on That 70s Show.
Kutcher and Masterson reunited on the Netflix comedy The Ranch, playing brothers Colt and Rooster Bennett in 2016.
Phillips, for her part, hasn’t starred in a film since 2010s Black Limousine, which co-starred David Arquette.
She scored a role in 2010s Fox series Raising Hope, in which she played Lucy Carlyle for seven episodes until 2013. After that, she appeared in one episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, but hasn’t acted since.
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