It appears that Danny Masterson will not be heading to prison, as his trial has ultimately been declared a mistrial by the judge. Famous for his role as Hyde in the hit comedy series That ’70s Show, which is getting a new spinoff coming to Netflix in January, Masterson had been on trial for rape. The actor was first charged in 2020 on three counts for alleged assaults that occurred in 2001 and 2003 according to two alleged victims. If convicted, he was looking at a maximum sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
About two weeks ago, jurors had begun their deliberations, though they were unable to reach a verdict prior to the Thanksgiving holiday break. Positive Covid test results saw two of the jurors swapped out on Monday with deliberations continuing. On Wednesday, the jury announced that it deadlocked, as they couldn’t reach a unanimous verdict on any of the three counts. At that point, the judge declared a mistrial. It remains to be seen if prosecutors will attempt to try Masterson again for the alleged sexual assaults.
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Video footage has also emerged of Masterson outside of the courtroom after the mistrial was declared. He can be seen holding hands with wife Bijou Phillips with the two of them smiling, clearly happy with the result. The pair ignored the questions asked of them by nearby journalists.
“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,” Masterson’s attorney, Tom Mesereau, previously told TMZ.
Danny Masterson Will Be Sitting Out Netflix’s That ’90s Show
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This news comes as many of Masterson’s former co-stars from That ’70s Show prepare for the upcoming premiere of the spinoff series That ’90s Show. That series brings back Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp as Red and Kitty Forman, this time with the two looking over a new group of rebellious youngsters in the 1990s. But most of the main cast of the original show are also coming back, such as Laura Prepon (Donna), Topher Grace (Eric), Mila Kunis (Jackie), Ashton Kutcher (Kelso), and Wilmer Valderrama (Fez). While Hyde was a big part of the original show, Masterson was not invited back to return, most likely because of the criminal trial he’s been involved in.
When the allegations came to light, Masterson had been working with Kutcher on the Netflix series The Ranch. While the criminal charges wouldn’t come until later, Netflix severed ties with Masterson immediately by having his character written out of that series. Given that Netflix had already fired Masterson from one show due to these allegations, it seemed like there was zero chance that he would’ve been considered for That ’90s Show.
