Danny Masterson Rape Charges Lead To Wife Bijou Phillips Shutting Down Her Social Media
By TheBlast Staff on June 19, 2020 at 4:33 AM EDT
Gettyimages | John Sciulli
Danny Masterson's wife, Bijou Phillips, is seemingly trying to lay low after her husband was charged with three counts of rape this week. As InTouch Weekly notes, her previously public Instagram account has now been deactivated in the wake of the charges being announced after a three-year investigation into the actor. Masterson's Instagram account remains live, however.
Phillips, 40, and Masterson were married in 2011, which is eight years after he allegedly raped three women. The couple are parents to 6-year-old daughter Dianna Francis Masterson.
Masterson was charged by Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey for three alleged incidents that happened in 2001 and 2003.
The first happened in 2001 when he is accused of having raped a 23-year-old women. The second accusation comes from a then-28-year-old woman who says she was raped by Masterson in April 2003. And the third allegation is from another 23-year-old woman who says she was raped near the end of 2003 when Masterson invited her to his Hollywood Hills home.
The "That 70s Show" star's attorney released a statement after he was arrested on Wednesday denying the charges and stating that Masterson and Phillips were in shock.
“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," attorney Tom Mesereau said in the statement released to CNN.
It continued: “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.”
Deputy District Attorney Robert Mueller of the Sex Crimes Division, who is the prosecutor in the case, said that all of the alleged crimes occurred at Masterson's home. If he is convicted, he faces up to 45 years in jail.
The District Attorney's Office said that there were two additional accusers, but they did not file charges in those incidents because “one for insufficient evidence and the other based upon the statute of limitations for the crime alleged.”
Wikimedia | https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blender_Afterparty_-_Danny_Masterson_1.jpg
Masterson is best known for his role as Steven Hyde in the popular sitcom "That 70s Show," which ran for eight seasons on Fox.
More recently, he co-starred with Ashton Kutcher on the Netflix comedy "The Ranch." His character was written off the show in 2017 after the rape allegations were made public amid the Me Too Movement.
