Streaming giant Netflix will apparently continue to work with actor Danny Masterson, star of its show The Ranch, though four women have now accused the actor of sexual assault.
Chrissie Carnell Bixler – who alleged Masterson raped her – condemned Netflix in an interview this week for continuing work on the actor’s show, which is set to premiere its fourth season in December.
“For me, what Netflix has done feels like a continuation of how the Church of Scientology made me feel when I reported my rape to them, as well as how Danny Masterson made me feel when I would beg him for an apology, an explanation, anything,” Bixler told The Daily Beast.
“I was made to feel unimportant. I was made to feel like I didn’t matter,” Bixler added.
As HuffPost reports, four women have now accused Masterson, former star of the sitcom That 70’s Show, of sexual assault in the early 2000s. The actor, however, has denied engaging in any sexual misconduct.
Masterson is a longstanding member of the Church of Scientology and at least three of his accusers are also members, and reported the alleged abuse to their church.
According to HuffPo, one of Masterson’s accusers filed a police report in 2004 about her alleged rape by the actor, but the Church of Scientology reportedly prevented the case from moving forward.
The report states:
One of Masterson’s accusers filed a police report in 2004 saying that she was raped in 2003, but the case didn’t move forward after the Church of Scientology intervened and submitted over 50 affidavits from Scientologists who denied the woman’s account. According to a report filed with the Los Angeles Police Department, the woman said Masterson raped her while she was “passed out,” and when she awoke and realized he was raping her, she struggled with him until he choked her and she passed out again.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) began interviewing women who accused Masterson of rape in late 2016, and in April of this year, the case was referred to the district attorney.
According to HuffPo, one law enforcement source described the evidence against Masterson as “’overwhelming’ … audiotapes, emails sent to and from Scientology officers at the time the alleged rapes happened, forensic computer evidence and a threatening handwritten letter Masterson sent to one of the alleged victims.” The case against the actor, nevertheless, stalled.
In October, Netflix announced the fourth season of The Ranch would premiere in December.
As Breitbart News reported, Netflix did suspend any further production of its hit series House of Cards that involved star Kevin Spacey. The actor was accused of attempted rape by a man who claimed he was a teen when the alleged rape occurred. Spacey was also accused of ongoing sexual harassment by eight staffers on House of Cards.