Is Danny Masterson a Scientologist? Influence explored in wake of actor's 30 year imprisonment

On Thursday, September 7, Hollywood actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years of life imprisonment for r*ping two women at his Hollywood Hills home in California, exactly two decades after committing the crimes.

This year, in May, a jury comprising five men and seven women found Danny Masterson guilty on the charges of double r*pe after eight days in court. He was offered 15 years to life on each conviction, to be served consecutively. On Thursday, after hearing the testimonies of the victims, Judge Charlaine Olmedo of the Los Angeles Superior Court finally sentenced him to 30 years in prison.

Unfortunately, Danny Masterson was not found guilty for allegedly assaulting his longtime girlfriend, and his third r*pe charge was deadlocked by the jury.

For those unaware, Masterson is a member of the Church of Scientology and, as per the victim statements, was greatly influenced by it.

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Danny Masterson is a second-generation Scientologist

As per The Daily Beast, Danny Masterson was not just a member of the Church of Scientology but, in fact, a second-generation Scientologist. The news outlet reported that it was the organization that protected him from all the r*pe charges for nearly 20 years, such was its influence on Danny’s life.

Meanwhile, all three women that he abused were also members of the Church of Scientology but were offered zero security despite their two-decade-long accusations, leading to their exit from the institution.

Prior to Thursday’s sentencing, the accusers arrived in court and shared their distressing experiences in front of the jury and the judge. One of the victims in the case, identified as N. Trout, read their statement in court, saying,

“The body is a relentless witness. When you r*ped me you stole from me. That is what r*pe is, a theft of the spirit.”

As per The Daily Beast, another accuser said that the legal matter was "filled with attempts by the Church of Scientology to silence us all, to intimidate us, and even obstruct." She also addressed Danny Masterson, accusing him of r*pe and said she has to live with the memories of "that night" for the rest of her life.

One of the accusers also stated how Masterson relished hurting women and called him a "true coward" and a "heartless monster". She continued by saying:

“It is your addiction. It is without question your favorite thing to do.”

She also recommended that Danny Masterson spend the rest of his life behind bars by reading and educating himself. In addition, she further mentioned how she forgave Masterson for what he did to her for her own sake and touched upon the fact that she was once suicidal for his wrongdoings.

Highlighting the Church of Scientology's involvement, N. Trout said that she "felt sufficiently intimidated by the repercussions." She further added,

“If you have a legal situation with another member of the church, you may not handle it externally from the church, and it’s very explicit."

The third woman, whose allegations were deadlocked, was not present in the courtroom. However, her statement was read out by one of the prosecutors, who stated she was struggling with PTSD following her alleged r*pe at the hands of Masterson.

As per Deadline, the r*pes occurred in 2003, when Masterson was a star of Fox Channel’s That ‘70s Show. He is reported to have dosed the drinks of all his victims with drugs and then r*ped them. He was first tried in November 2022, which ended in a mistrial, followed by a retrial in May 2023.

Meanwhile, Masterson pleaded not guilty throughout his trial and insisted that all three s*xual encounters were consensual. His legal team even explored the possibility that the women were motivated by "hatred, revenge, or money." The defense even accused the statements of the victims of being inconsistent and requested that the court allow their client to serve the sentences together for 15 years in total, which was immediately turned down by the judge.

Following the decision by the Los Angeles Superior Court, Shawn Holley, a lawyer for Masterson, maintained the latter's innocence and told reporters,

“Though we have great respect for the jury, and for our system of justice, sometimes they get it wrong — and that’s what happened here."

On Thursday, before the final verdict, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told the court:

“They were r*ped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against. Scientology told them there’s no justice for them.”

As for Scientology, when Masterson was indicted in May this year, it issued a statement saying that the victims’ claims that the organization protected the perpetrator were "uniformly false." On Thursday, after Danny Masterson’s sentencing, the Church of Scientology further denied that it tried to prevent the accusers from going to the police. In a statement via email, it told the Associated Press:

“The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone – Scientologists or not – to law enforcement…There is not a scintilla of evidence supporting the scandalous allegations that the Church harassed the accusers.”

The statement further read,

“Every single instance of supposed harassment by the Church is FALSE, and has been debunked.”

However, two of the accusers' attorney, Alison Anderson, stated that her clients intended to keep holding the church responsible for trying to shield Danny Masterson and silencing the victims.

'Despite persistent harassment, obstruction and intimidation, these courageous women helped hold a ruthless s*xual predator accountable today. They are eager to soon tell the fuller story of how Scientology and its enablers tried desperately to keep them from coming forward," said Anderson.

Danny Masterson will be eligible for parole in the year 2048, when he is 72 years old.

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In brief, looking at actress Leah Remini’s statement on the Danny Masterson case

While Danny Masterson’s family was present in court to support him, actress Leah Remini, who is a former Scientologist, was also in attendance to support the victims. She is already engaged in her own harassment and defamation lawsuit against Scientology and has called out the Church for protecting a convicted r*pist for over two decades, following Thursday’s verdict, and also accused them of covering up his crimes as well as those of other powerful members of Scientology.

She even took to X (formerly Twitter) to share her opinion on the case and stated that she was "relieved" by the sentencing while reminding netizens that it was the influence of Scientology and its leadership that kept the gruesome acts covered up for nearly two decades.

“For over two decades, Danny Masterson avoided accountability for his crimes. While Danny was the only one sentenced, his conviction and sentence are indictments against Scientology, its operatives, and its criminal leader, David Miscavige,” she wrote.

She further accused Masterson’s wrongdoings of being suppressed by the Church’s internal intelligence agency, its top authorities, and a team of church-linked immoral attorneys, private investigators, agents, and more, who were all hungry for media attention. She also called the experience of sitting in the courtroom with the victims and seeing them finally get justice “surreal.”

Remini further added how Scientology has been using its financial resources, power, and religious protection to make conspiracies of its own for years while calling it a “multi-billion dollar criminal organization with tax-exempt status.”

The King of Queens actress also praised the survivors and said she was in awe of their bravery and the fact that they "fought tirelessly for justice" for decades, despite living through hell and being ruthlessly harassed by Scientology since they filed complaints against Danny Masterson with law enforcement.

In addition, Leah said that Scientology makes sure that if one of its members reports a criminal offense against another, it destroys their lives, families, friends, and jobs. In conclusion, she said that the victims’ "tenacity, strength, and courage" gave hope to all other victims of Scientology, for which they’ll be forever grateful. She also thanked the entire legal team for making it possible.

Meanwhile, in response to Remini’s tweet, a Scientology spokesperson told Deadline that the actress was "a horrible person" and that her own suit against the Church was "ludicrous" and based on "pure lunacy."

Leah Remini runs a show called Scientology and the Aftermath, where she brings to light all of the wrongdoings by the church.