Danny Masterson Blames Bad Lawyer Rather Than Heinous Crimes For Jail Sentence
Disgraced That ‘70s Show star Danny Masterson filed a petition for habeas corpus this week, blaming his trial attorney’s missteps for his conviction on two rape charges, according to Variety. As the late Norm Macdonald might have observed on Weekend Update, the appeal ignores one other possible explanation for Masterson’s conviction: The rapes.
Masterson’s new lawyers don’t see it that way, claiming the sitcom actor’s previous trial attorney failed to call witnesses and didn’t push back on prosecutors’ claims about Scientology. The successful prosecutors argued that the women were discouraged from reporting Masterson because he was a high-profile member of the church. In fact, two of Masterson’s victims testified that they were threatened with excommunication if they called the cops.
Masterson was charged with forcibly raping three women between 2001 and 2003. His allegedly lousy lawyer got him out of one of the charges (the hung jury voted 8-4 in favor of finding him guilty), but his conviction on the other two counts earned Masterson thirty years in jail.
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Meanwhile, Masterson’s ex-wife, Bijou Phillips, asked a different court to remove “Masterson” from their daughter’s name last month, according to TMZ. There’s probably a bad lawyer to blame for that as well.
Masterson’s new lawyers contend that the jury didn’t get to hear from all the witnesses who could have cleared his name. For example? “Other guests in Masterson’s home on one evening in question heard what they believed to be enthusiastic, consensual sexual activity.”
Masterson’s appeal also alleges that the LAPD was biased and compromised, thanks to “its entanglement with (ex-Scientologist Leah) Remini.”
The King of Queens star has been outspoken about Masterson, posting a lengthy statement after he was convicted in 2023. “For over two decades, Danny Masterson avoided accountability for his crimes,” she wrote. “While Danny was the only one sentenced, his conviction and sentence are indictments against Scientology, its operatives, and its criminal leader, David Miscavige.”
In addition to his appeal, reports Deadline, Masterson is still “ facing a civil suit from a number of the women he assaulted over the years.”