Actor Danny Masterson, a star of That ’70s Show, has been charged with raping three women, the Los Angeles County District Attorney announced Wednesday.

Masterson allegedly forcibly raped the unnamed women—a 23-year-old, a 28-year-old, and another 23-year-old—between 2001 and 2003. His arraignment is scheduled for September, and if he’s convicted, he’ll face 45 years to life in prison. 

The District Attorney’s office also noted it had declined to file charges against Masterson in two additional cases—one for lack of evidence and one due to the passage of the statute of limitations.

Masterson’s attorney denied the allegations in a statement: “Mr. Masterson is innocent, and we’re confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to testify.”

The actor was fired from Netflix’s show The Ranch, which he co-produced and starred in with fellow ’70s Show actor Ashton Kutcher, when the allegations originally broke in 2017. The accusations against Masterson are notable for their involvement of the Church of Scientology, which has gone after his accusers in an alleged attempt to silence them. Masterson is a member of the religious organization, and the mother of one of his accusers has penned multiple letters to Scientology leadership pleading for action against the actor.

“Where is the Justice code?” the mother asked, referring to how the church treated her daughter. She alleged that the church pressured the victim to meet with Masterson despite the violent nature of her accusation—Masterson allegedly smothered the victim with a pillow and choked her—and attempted to impose a de facto fine by obliging her to complete expensive Scientology “auditing” courses. Her daughter came close to being labeled a “suppressive person,” which would in effect evict her from the church. “Celebs are exempt from these codes?…The fate of any young girl going anywhere near Danny lies in our hands, please help me.”

Four women filed suit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology in August 2019, alleging stalking and intimidation aimed at burying the allegations. One plaintiff said her dog had been murdered.

The allegations against Masterson have been public knowledge for several years, first coming to light in March 2017. The Los Angeles Police Department’s investigation reportedly stalled inexplicably for several months that same year.

Before his dismissal from The Ranch, his accusers blasted Netflix and Kutcher multiple times for continuing to air the show and even ordering a new season. Kutcher even attended Masterson’s 2018 wedding more than a year after news of the allegations broke.

In January 2019, one of Masterson’s accusers, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, blasted Kutcher’s relationship with the actor in a statement to The Daily Beast.

“Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have positioned themselves as champions for women, children, fighting against sexual abuses and sex trafficking. Public supporters of the Me Too movement and Time’s Up. Ashton and Mila were at the forefront marching in the Women’s March on March 13, 2018, in Los Angeles,” she wrote.

“As much as I applaud them for standing up for women, I am left confused and heartbroken as to why they refuse to stand up for all the women they know who have been violently raped by their friend Danny Masterson.” 

The cable network A&E pulled an episode of its high-profile show Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath in February 2019 that focused on the accusations against Masterson after what one of his accusers described as a campaign of hateful letters written to A&E. 

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Octavia may have been the one getting her mind probed, but it’s safe to say that all of our brains are probably exhausted after Wednesday’s episode of The 100.

Here’s the thing about interstellar travel and time dilation — you either totally get it, or you just kind of nod along while you attempt to piece the story together in your brain and hope no one notices. I put myself firmly in the latter category, so you can imagine how much fun I had figuring out this week’s episode, which connected the show’s current action with several events from the previous season. Here’s what went down this week, though perhaps not in this order:

PLANET BARDO, 45 DAYS AGO | The episode begins with Octavia and Diyoza arriving on Planet Bardo, and although they put up a decent fight against their captors, both women are taken into the Disciples’ custody. Under the direction of Anders, the leader of the Disciples, a man named Levitt begins probing Octavia’s brain for useful information. Though her brain offers flashes of many familiar faces — including deceased characters like Lincoln, Lexa, Jaha and… was that Pike? — Octavia’s captors seem particularly interested in Bellamy and Clarke, the latter of whom is believed to be key to winning mankind’s final battle.

PLANET BARDO, 34 DAYS AGO | Over the next 11 days, Levitt basically binges the first few seasons of The 100 via Octavia’s memories, offering an interesting take on the warrior’s growth. “You’re amazing,” he tells her. “Maybe you lost your way somewhere, but you sacrificed so much for the people you love. Even as a child, forced to hide under the floor. You were terrified, but you never made a sound, because you knew that if they found you they’d punish Bellamy and kill your mother. You’re not a killer, Octavia. You’re a warrior, to be sure, but your heart is pure.” She replies, “Wait until you get to Blodreina.” (Uh… Spoiler alert!)

This nice moment is interrupted by grown-up Hope, who enjoys a brief reunion with her Auntie O. before helping her escape through the Anomaly. Levitt explains that because Octavia is going through without a helmet, she won’t retain any of her memories, so he scans Hope’s brain code and tattoos it on Octavia’s back. (This is one of those things you just have to shrug off with a “Sure, I guess that makes sense.”) While Hope goes to look for her mother, Octavia returns to Sanctum (circa Season 6 Episode 8) and is greeted by Gabriel.

PLANET BARDO, 7 DAYS AGO | We learn that Hope has been captured by Anders, who tells her that he’ll spare Diyoza’s life if Hope goes to Sanctum and retrieves Octavia. With no other options, she does as he requests, emerging from the Anomaly circa the show’s sixth season finale. (At the time, we thought that Hope was stabbing Octavia with a dagger, but we now know that it was a retrieval device.) The Disciples continue probing Octavia’s memories, though Levitt is considered too sympathetic to her plight, so Anders takes him off the case. To be fair, Anders isn’t wrong for doing so. Before he’s reassigned, Levitt sneaks a message (“trust Bellamy”) into Hope’s arm and teaches Octavia a secret trick to protecting her mind from the Disciples’ technology. I knew I liked him!

Anders then interrupts Octavia’s second round of probing with an announcement: Her presence is required to talk down Bardo’s newest guest… Bellamy! Octavia promises Anders that she’ll tell him everything he wants to know (“even about Clarke”) if he lets Bellamy go back to Sanctum. He agrees to her terms, but that doesn’t stop one of the other Disciples from going rogue and neutralizing himself… and Bellamy?!

PLANET BARDO, PRESENT | Here’s the thing about Bellamy’s supposed “death” we have to keep in mind: We don’t actually see it happen until Echo, Gabriel and Hope arrive in Bardo seven days later. And even then, it’s only a projection from Octavia’s brain. Levitt told her the secret to overpowering the Disciples’ technology, so it’s entirely possible that Octavia purposely fabricated that memory for reasons unbeknownst to the rest of us. Regardless, Echo is fully convinced that Bellamy is dead, and she takes her righteous fury out on Levitt’s replacement. (Rest in pieces, buddy!)

MOON SANCTUM, PRESENT | Wonkru must resort to drastic measures when the Primes’ remaining believers (a group now known as “the Faithful”) begin sacrificing themselves in protest of Russell’s incarceration. Murphy attempts to talk them down, but they immediately turn on him when he accidentally reveals himself to be a fraud. (Oops!) Fortunately, Russell shows up to verify that Murphy is who he claims to be, and to tell his people to stop killing themselves for him.

With that problem solved, along comes a new — arguably worse — predicament: Indra figures out that “Russell” is actually Sheidheda, leading to a tense exchange of unpleasantries between them. “I may not be able to kill you,” she says, “but I can make sure that when I do, you don’t come back.” She then orders a removal of the mind drive in his neck without the use of any painkillers. “Let him feel it,” she says. “For Abby.” (Yes!)

Your thoughts on this week’s time-bending, mind-blowing, heartbreaking episode of The 100? More importantly, do we trust that Bellamy is really gone? Drop ’em in a comment below.

Click here to read the full article.

Actor Danny Masterson has been charged with raping three women between 2001 and 2003, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office announced on Wednesday.

Masterson, 44, was charged with three counts of rape, and faces up to 45 years in prison if convicted. He was arrested by the LAPD Robbery-Homicide Division on Wednesday morning, and was released in the afternoon on $3.3 million bail.

More from Variety

An arraignment has been set for Sept. 18.

The former “That ’70s Show” actor is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman sometime between January and December of 2001. He allegedly raped a 28-year-old woman in April 2003. And the charges allege that raped another 23-year-old woman at his Hollywood Hills home between October and December of 2003.

Tom Mesereau, Masterson’s attorney, issued a statement vowing to fight the charges.

“Mr. Masterson is innocent, and we’re confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence finally comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to testify,” Mesereau said. “Obviously, Mr. Masterson and his wife are in complete shock considering that these nearly 20-year old allegations are suddenly resulting in charges being filed, but they and their family are comforted knowing that ultimately the truth will come out. The people who know Mr. Masterson know his character and know the allegations to be false.”

Masterson has been under investigation by the LAPD since late 2016. He was dropped from the Netflix series “The Ranch” in December 2017, amid renewed focus on sexual misconduct in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal. Masterson has vehemently and repeatedly denied the allegations.

The District Attorney’s office also said Wednesday that it had declined to file charges against Masterson in two other cases. In one of those cases, a woman alleged that she had been repeatedly raped by Masterson while living with him in 2002. Prosecutors declined to file charges due to insufficient evidence, according to a charge evaluation worksheet. In the second instance, a woman alleged that Masterson had raped her twice — once at his home, and once at hers — while she was unconscious in August and September of 1996. That case was declined due to the statute of limitations.

In August 2019, four women filed suit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology, alleging they were harassed and stalked in retaliation for going to the police.

Chrissie Carnell Bixler, one of the plaintiffs, alleged that Masterson repeatedly sexually assaulted her in late 2001 and early 2002. She was in a relationship with Masterson at the time, and alleges that on one occasion Masterson drugged her wine and anally assaulted her. According to the suit, Masterson admitted the following morning that he had assaulted her while she was unconscious.

A second woman, identified in the suit as Jane Doe #1, alleged that Masterson made her a drink during a party in April 2003, which made her feel sick and disoriented. She alleged that Masterson carried her upstairs and put her in the shower, after which she passed out on his bed. She alleged that she awoke to find him raping her, according to the suit. The date of the incident cited in the lawsuit matches the date of one of the rapes in the criminal complaint.