Danny Masterson: That 70s Show star ‘raped women and hid behind Church of Scientology’, court told
American actor Danny Masterson drugged women’s drinks so he could rape them before relying on his prominence in the Church of Scientology to avoid the consequences, a jury has been told in closing arguments at his trial.
Masterson, a former star of the hit US sitcom That 70s Show, is on trial for rape for a second time after the first ended in a mistrial in December, with a jury deadlocked on all counts.
Prosecution lawyer Ariel Anson told the jury: “The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. He does this to take away his victims’ ability to consent.
“You don’t want to have sex? You don’t have a choice. The defendant makes that choice for these victims. And he does it over and over and over again.”
The 47-year-old has pleaded not guilty to raping three women at his home between 2001 and 2003.
His lawyer Philip Cohen told jurors that inconsistencies in the women’s stories are important to consider.
“[Ms Anson] did a very nice job of ignoring many of them,” Mr Cohen said. “What she views as little inconsistencies are at the heart of trying to determine is somebody, reliable, credible, believable enough for a criminal conviction?”
Ms Anson took aim at the controversial Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is a member and all three women are former members, throughout her argument.
She emphasised that church authorities kept the women from accepting what had happened to them and from reporting it to police for years.
“The church taught his victims ‘rape isn’t rape, you caused this, and above all, you are never allowed to go to law enforcement’,” she said.
“In Scientology, the defendant is a celebrity and he is untouchable.”
The church has denied having any policy discouraging members from going to law enforcement.
Leah Remini, an actress and former member of the church who has become one of its most prominent public opponents, sat in the courtroom, her arm around one of the accusers, who gave evidence during both trials that Masterson raped her in 2003.
Ms Anson guided jurors through the evidence of all three women.
One is a former girlfriend who said Masterson raped her five years into their relationship in 2001. The two others are women he knew through social circles surrounding the church.
All told the court they became unusually groggy and had gaps in consciousness and memory after consuming drinks Masterson gave them.
Judge Charlaine Olmedo allowed the prosecution during the second trial to directly say he drugged the women, after only allowing descriptions of their states at the first.
There is no physical evidence of any drugging. The investigation that led to Masterson’s arrest did not begin for about 15 years after the women say they were raped.
Ms Anson told jurors the women’s accounts and the evidence of a police toxicology expert who described symptoms should be enough.
“We ask that you hold the defendant accountable,” she said, “that you find him guilty”.
Fewer than half of jurors voted to convict Masterson on any count after the first trial.
Lawyers for both sides rested their cases on Friday, three weeks into the second trial. Masterson’s lawyers declined to call any witnesses.
His attorney emphasised on Tuesday that jurors must find him guilty if it’s beyond a reasonable doubt, saying that even if they believe it is likely he is guilty, they must acquit.
“If you say, ‘I think he is probably guilty’, you know what that leads to?” Mr Cohen said. “Not guilty.”
Angelina Jolie says although she appreciates being an artist, she would prefer for her legacy to be “a good mother” and to be known for her “belief in equality and human rights”.
The Oscar-winning actress stars as Maria Callas in the new Pablo Larrain film about the opera singer’s life.
Pic: StudioCanal
She has called Maria “the hardest” and “most challenging” role she has had in her career and put months of preparation into immersing herself into the world of opera.
Jolie, who recently reached a divorce settlement with actor Brad Pitt, told Sky News: “To be very candid, it was the therapy I didn’t realise I needed. I had no idea how much I was holding in and not letting out.
“So, the challenge wasn’t the technical [side of opera], it was an emotional experience to find my voice, to be in my body, to express. You have to give every single part of yourself.”
The biopic combines the voice of the Maleficent actress with recordings of Maria Callas.
Jolie believes it “would be a crime to not have [Callas’] voice through this because, in many ways, she is very present in this film”.
Who was Maria Callas?
Born in New York in 1923, Maria Callas was the daughter of Greek immigrants who moved back to Athens at the age of 13 with her mother and sister.
After enrolling at the Athens Conservatory, she made her professional debut at 17 and went on to become one of the most famous faces of opera, travelling around the world and performing at Covent Garden in London, The Met in New York and La Scala in Milan.
Callas’s final operatic performance took place at Covent Garden in 1965 when she was 41 but she continued to work conducting master classes at Juilliard School, doing concert tours and starring in the 1969 film Medea.
Written by Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight, Maria focuses on the artist’s final years in the 1970s when she moved to Paris and disappeared from public view.
She died on 16 September 1977 at the age of 53.
Pic: StudioCanal
Jolie on changing motivations as an actor
Maria follows the life of an artist fully consumed by the art she creates and even remarks that “happiness never developed a beautiful melody”.
Reflecting on her own life in the spotlight, Jolie said she noticed her own career motivations change over the years.
“There’s this kind of study of being human that we do when we create, and we communicate with an audience because our work is not in isolation – it’s a connection.
“I think when I was younger, I had different questions about being human and different feelings and now as I’ve gotten older, I understand some things and now I have different questions.
“It’s a matter of life, right? And so maybe that’s interesting that this now is a character really contemplating death and really contemplating the toll of certain things in life that I, of course, couldn’t have understood in my 20s”.
Jolie at the New York Film Festival in September with three of her children (L-R) Pax, Zahara and Maddox. Pic: AP
A family affair
Two of Jolie’s children, Maddox and Pax, took on production assistant roles during the filming of Maria and witnessed their mother perform opera for the first time in public.
She says the film allowed them to create new experiences together and for her children to see her approach to playing a difficult role.
“Everyone in my home, we all give each other space to be who we are and we’re all different.
“I’m the mom, but I’m also an artist and a person and so my family has been very kind and gives me their understanding. They make fun of me, and they support me and just as you’d hope it would be.”
She adds: “When you play somebody who is dealing with so much pain, it’s very important to come home to some kindness.”
Maria is in cinemas now.
Tom Holland’s dad has confirmed his son’s engagement to Zendaya – revealing how the 28-year-old meticulously planned the proposal.
Zendaya, also 28, sparked engagement rumours when she attended last Sunday’s Golden Globes wearing a sparkling diamond on her ring finger.
Neither star has publicly addressed the rumours but Tom’s comedian father, Dominic Holland, has now confirmed the pair are set to wed.
He wrote in a post on his Patreon account: “Tom, as you know by now was very incredibly well prepared. He had purchased a ring.
“He had spoken with her father and gained permission to propose to his daughter.”
“Tom had everything planned out… When, where, how, what to say, what to wear,” he added.
Zendaya arrived at the Golden Globes with a noticeable piece of new jewellery. Pic: Invision/AP
Dominic also noted that while most men worry about being able to afford an engagement ring, he suspects his actor son was “more concerned with the stone, its size and clarity, its housing, which jeweller”.
Tom and Zendaya met on the set of Spider-Man: Homecoming in 2016, when they played the titular hero and his love interest MJ, respectively. Their romance was confirmed in 2021.
In his post, Tom’s father admitted fears over whether being in the spotlight could put a strain on the couple’s relationship.
He wrote: “I do fret that their combined stardom will amplify their spotlight and the commensurate demands on them and yet they continually confound me by handling everything with aplomb.”
“And even though show business is a messy place for relationships and particularly so for famous couples as they crash and burn in public and are too numerous to mention […] yet somehow right at the same time, I am completely confident they will make a successful union.”
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Zendaya rose to fame after landing a role in Disney sitcom Shake It Up, and became a household name after starring in Euphoria.
Holland – who has starred in three Spider-Man films opposite his now-fiancée – made his stage debut in Billy Elliot the Musical in 2008.
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