Danny Masterson
Daniel Peter Masterson is an American actor and disc jockey. Masterson played the roles of Steven Hyde in That '70s Show and Jameson "Rooster" Bennett in The Ranch. On June 17, 2020, he was arrested and charged in connection with three rape allegations.
Early life and family
Masterson was born on Long Island, New York, the son of Carol, a manager, and Peter Masterson, an insurance agent. He grew up in Garden City and East Williston, New York. He has a brother, actor Christopher Masterson. Their maternal half siblings Jordan Masterson and Alanna Masterson are actors. Daniel Masterson also has a paternal half-brother, Will Masterson.Career
Early years
A child model from age four, who was featured in magazine articles as well as television commercials beginning at age five, Masterson starred in musicals as a child at the age of eight, and began acting as well. His singing voice "disappeared" by the time he was a teenager. By the time he was sixteen, he had appeared in over one-hundred commercials, including ones for Swift Premium, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, Hardee's, Hostess, Tang, and Clearasil.Acting career
In the early 1990s, Masterson had a role in Beethoven's 2nd, and starred as Justin in Cybill. After starring in the third and fourth seasons of Cybill, Masterson decided he wanted to move on from Cybill and audition for a show originally titled Teenage Wasteland, which later was changed to That '70s Show. The original casting director for That '70s Show, Debby Romano, resisted Masterson's audition because he was slightly older than the rest of the cast, but ultimately allowed him to audition. She stated that, "he came in and he was just so funny," and that he redefined where the role was going and made the role of Steven Hyde the, "tough, funny guy."Masterson starred in all eight seasons of That '70s Show. His role on That '70s Show launched Masterson's career, allowing him to pursue other endeavours between tapings. After the show concluded Masterson acted in several movies and made guest appearances on television shows including Punk'd and MADtv. Along with Kutcher and Valderrama, he co-hosted the Fox TV special Woodstock 1999. He had a role in the 2008 comedy Yes Man. Masterson stars with his real-life wife, Bijou Phillips, in the 2009 drama The Bridge to Nowhere.
In 2011, Masterson guest starred as James Roland in USA Network's White Collar. He portrayed Jerry Rubin in the 2010 movie, The Chicago 8, written and directed by Pinchas Perry. The Chicago 8 is a film based on the actual Chicago Eight in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and explores the events around the trial. It was filmed in September and October 2009. The film is based closely on the trial transcripts and most of the action takes place in the courtroom.
In 2012, the comedy series Men At Work premiered on TBS, co-starring Masterson and Michael Cassidy, James Lesure and Adam Busch. In 2012, Masterson appeared in the film Alter Egos, directed by Jordan Galland.
Masterson starred alongside Sam Elliott, Ashton Kutcher, and Elisha Cuthbert in the Netflix comedy series The Ranch from 2016–2018.
Music
Masterson began DJing at Los Angeles night clubs in 1997 as a hobby, under the name DJ Donkey Punch, but it soon became a side business. He currently goes by the name DJ Mom Jeans. Masterson is a self-described "rock and hip hop fanatic," and is also a fan of indie, electro, and funk music, all of which he primarily DJs with.Business ventures
For a time, Masterson owned a lounge and bar in Park City, Utah, called Downstairs.He appeared as part of a poker team, the Unabombers, in the 2005 GSN series The James Woods Gang vs. The Unabombers. He has hosted celebrity poker events, such as the Phat Farm Stuff Casino Weekend Poker Tournament, in which he won the tournament.
Personal life
Masterson is a Scientologist. He started dating Bijou Phillips in 2005, they became engaged in 2009, and married on October 18, 2011. Their daughter, Fianna Francis Masterson was born on February 14, 2014.Sexual assault allegations
In March 2017, four women filed sexual assault allegations against Masterson prompting a Los Angeles Police Department investigation. Masterson, through his agent, has denied the allegations. In response to the accusations, Netflix fired Masterson from its comedy series The Ranch on December 5, 2017, saying in a statement, "Yesterday was his last day on the show, and production will resume in early 2018 without him." Masterson stated that he is "obviously very disappointed in Netflix's decision to write my character off of The Ranch." A fifth woman who dated Masterson made similar rape accusations in December 2017. He was dropped as a client by United Talent Agency.A planned 2019 episode of Leah Remini's show , focusing on the Masterson rape allegations, was delayed due to what one of Masterson's accusers characterized as pressure from the Church of Scientology. The episode eventually aired on August 27, 2019.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala, singer for the bands The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In, alleged that Masterson sexually assaulted his wife Chrissie Carnell Bixler, and stated At the Drive-In's song "Incurably Innocent" is about the incident.
In August 2019, four women filed a lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology for stalking and harassment, stemming from their rape allegations. One plaintiff claimed her dog died from traumatic injuries to its trachea and esophagus, also alleging that church members chased her as she drove her car, filmed her without permission, harassed her online and posted ads to social media sites soliciting sex in her name. Another plaintiff stated that she and her neighbors observed a man snapping pictures from her driveway and later that night someone broke a window in her 13-year-old daughter's bedroom. Such stalking and harassment claims are indicative of a Scientology term titled Fair Game, officially cancelled by L. Ron Hubbard in 1968; yet the plaintiffs' lawyers claim it continues still to any detractors and ex-church-members, through 'outsourcing' to private investigators and off duty police officers. Masterson has since responded to one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit claiming "I’m not going to fight my ex-girlfriend in the media like she’s been baiting me to do for more than two years. I will beat her in court—and look forward to it because the public will finally be able to learn the truth and see how I’ve been railroaded by this woman and once her lawsuit is thrown out, I intend to sue her and the others who jumped on the bandwagon for the damage they caused me and my family." He did not address the stalking or harassment claims.
On January 22, 2020, Bixler-Zavala reported that a second of his family pets had to be put down due to being fed rat poison wrapped inside a rolled-up piece of raw meat, alleging this was done by Scientologists in response to his repeated public statements alleging Masterson raped his wife. Masterson has yet to directly respond to any of Bixler-Zavala's claims or his prior rape allegations made by Chrissie Carnell Bixler with the closest acknowledgment being Masterson's wife Bijou Phillips making an Instagram post mocking Carnell Bixler's court papers against Masterson.
On June 17, 2020, Masterson was charged with raping a 23-year-old woman in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in early 2003 and a 23-year-old woman in late 2003. The three counts come after a three-year investigation beginning in 2017. If convicted, Masterson faces up to 45 years in prison.