Senior Netflix executive Andy Yeatman reportedly told a woman that the company’s bosses don’t believe the rape allegations she made against one of the streaming giant’s star actors Danny Masterson — unaware of the fact that the woman was one of Masterson’s accusers.
The Huffington Post reports that the woman confronted Yeatman, Netflix’s director of kids content, Sunday in Los Angeles and asked why Netflix hadn’t taken action against Masterson, who’s starred alongside Ashton Kutcher in 30 episodes of the Netflix-original sitcom The Ranch.
While Masterson has been accused of raping four women since 2000, according to the Huffington Post, Yeatman reported told the woman “We don’t believe them.”
“I’m one of them,” the women reportedly replied to Yeatman.
The exchange continued an hour later, HuffPo reports:
The conversation was over, but Yeatman approached her an hour later. He told her he wasn’t aware that she was an alleged victim. The woman started to cry and told the executive, “I hope no one ever says that to your daughter.”
Yeatman said he couldn’t make the decision on Masterson’s future with the company.
“Netflix is going to regret this, this is a mistake, they’re going to see,” the alleged victim replied.
The woman and a witness told HuffPost that Yeatman condescendingly told her, “We’ll see.” However, Netflix denies that Yeatman said that.
Netflix reportedly confirmed the conversation between the woman and Yeatman but insisted that its executive’s comments were “careless” and “uninformed.”
“While he was coaching a youth soccer match today, Mr. Yeatman ― a Netflix kids’ programming executive ― was approached by a stranger who did not identify herself or explain her connection to Danny Masterson,” Netflix said in a statement to HuffPo.
“Mr. Yeatman’s comments were careless, uninformed and do not represent the views of the company. Further, he would have no insights into decision making on ‘The Ranch,'” Netflix said. “We are aware of the allegations against Danny Masterson and we are following the current investigation, and will respond if developments occur.”
The woman filed a police report against Masterson in 2004, but, the outlet reports, the Church of Scientology reportedly prevented the case from moving forward. The Los Angeles County District Attorney and Los Angeles Police Department have been investigating the assault allegations against the actor since January, HuffPo reports.
Masterson, who hasn’t been charged, denies the accusations against him. In October, Netflix announced the fourth season of The Ranch, which is set to debut later this month.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @jeromeehudson