‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson denied bail by judge pending appeal

A judge on Wednesday denied bail pending an appeal for “That ‘70s Show” star Danny Masterson, who began serving his sentence last month after being convicted in the rape of two women decades ago.

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In an order, Los Angeles Superior Court judge Charlaine Olmedo wrote that Masterson, 47, “had every incentive to flee,” citing the actor’s ongoing divorce from his wife, Bijou Phillips, as a factor, Deadline reported. Phillips cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the couple’s divorce after nearly 12 years of marriage, according to People.

Masterson was sentenced to serve 30 years to life.

“If defendant’s conviction and sentence are upheld on appeal, he will likely remain in custody for decades and perhaps the rest of his life,” Olmedo wrote on Wednesday. “In light of the fact that defendant has no wife to go home to, defendant now has every incentive to flee and little reason to return to state prison to serve out the remainder of his lengthy sentence should his appeal be unsuccessful.”

Phillips filed for divorce two weeks after Masterson was sentenced in September.

In May 2023, a jury found Masterson guilty of two counts of rape by force or fear after deliberating the case for more than six days, the Los Angeles Times reported. The panel was deadlocked on a rape allegation involving a third victim, prosecutors said.

Jurors determined that Masterson raped two women, ages 23 and 28, at his home in separate incidents several months apart in 2003.

Masterson was first arrested in 2020 on three counts of forcible rape dating to allegations from 2001 to 2003, Rolling Stone reported. That trial ended in November 2022 after the jury deadlocked, forcing a mistrial.

A retrial was held in April 2023, according to the magazine.

Records show that Masterson was transferred last month from the Los Angeles County Jail to North Kern State Prison, a medium-security facility in Delano located about 145 miles north of Los Angeles.

He will be eligible for parole in 2042, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

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