That 70’s Show star Danny Masterson was found guilty of 2 counts of rape in his latest retrial. Leah Remini, former Scientologist and star of Scientology and the Aftermath, calls it a “relief” in a longwinded Tweet.
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Danny Masterson trial
That 70’s Show star Danny Masterson was charged with rape in 2022, but things ended in a shocking mistrial. The original jury found him guilty of two counts but was “hopelessly deadlocked” on the third alleged victim’s testimony.
After a thorough retrial, the star has been found guilty of the original two counts by a Los Angeles jury. Masterson is facing 30 years in prison and was deemed a “flight risk” by Judge Charlaine Olmedo.
Danny Masterson is a long time Scientologist, and many believe the church was hiding his crimes due to him being a notable celebrity-member of the organization.
Scientology and the Aftermath
Leah Remini has been set on exposing the cult-like practices of Scientology since leaving the church in July 2013. Before this time, she, along with Masterson, held a high position in the org.
Remini’s series, Scientology and the Aftermath ran for 3 seasons beginning in 2016. The documentary, cohosted by Mike Rinder, did everything it could to show the dark side of the “religion” that is lead by David Miscavige.
In the series finale she was set on targeting Masterson, interviewing two of his accusers and sharing their side of the story.
Leah Remini speaks out
Reacting to the guilty verdict, Remini shared a longwinded Tweet celebrating the victory and referring to it as a “relief.”
The Tweet reads as follows:
The two guilty verdicts in the rape trial of celebrity Scientologist Danny Masterson are a relief. The women who survived Danny Masterson’s predation are heroes. For years, they and their families have faced vicious attacks and harassment from Scientology and Danny’s well-funded legal team.
Nevertheless, they soldiered on, determined to seek justice. While it is up to them to decide whether they are satisfied with this verdict, I am relieved that Danny Masterson is facing some justice after over two decades of brutal sexual violence with no criminal consequences.
To Chrissie Bixler, whose count ended in a hung jury, I know Danny raped you; I know that Scientology tried to destroy you. However, this case would not have moved forward and resulted in two guilty verdicts if it were not for you. I am sorry you didn’t receive a guilty verdict on your charges; you deserved one. But please never forget that justice would not have been served if it were not for you.
Although Scientology and its leader, David Miscavige, were not formal defendants, they played a significant role in obstructing justice in this case and other instances of sexual violence. Senior Scientology officials, civilian Scientologists, and their proxies have conspired to silence victims and intimidate witnesses for decades.
This case is just the beginning of our plan to hold them accountable. I speak only for myself when I want to thank Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller, Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson, and their staff for their relentless pursuit of justice for the last six years.
I want to thank Judge Charlaine Olmedo for her professionalism and for not allowing Scientology’s antics to disrupt this trial. While I am often issuing harsh statements against the LAPD, in this case, I want to thank the LAPD detectives in this case. They faced relentless harassment from Scientology as well and kept moving forward.
Finally, to the jury, thank you for seeing the truth. Thank you for not allowing emotions to get in the way of cold hard facts. Thank you for showing Scientologists (former and current) that justice is not only possible, but that they should come to expect it. And thank you to all of you who have supported the women who faced hell to fight for justice. Every reply, every retweet, every like…it all mattered.
Ashley Marie is a writer for Starcasm and the personality behind Twitter’s @RealityByAshley. You can contact Ashley via Twitter or email at realitybyashley(at)gmail.com
