A woman who accused 'The Ranch' star Danny Masterson of rape is calling out Netflix for still working with him
- Four women have accused actor Danny Masterson of sexual assault, according to HuffPost.
- Masterson currently stars opposite Ashton Kutcher on Netflix's "The Ranch," and both starred in "That '70s Show."
- Despite the allegations, Netflix hasn't made any moves to suspend him or remove him from the show, like it did when accusations against stars Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K. surfaced.
- One of Masterson's alleged victims is taking Netflix to task for its continued work with the actor.
Danny Masterson stars alongside Ashton Kutcher on Netflix's "The Ranch" and, according to HuffPost, four women have now accused him of sexual assault. But Netflix, so far, has not made any moves to remove Masterson from the show, and on Thursday one of his alleged victims called out the streaming giant for continuing its working relationship with the actor.
"Victims are taking back the power that was stolen from us, and things are going to change. Netflix should write that down," Chrissie Carnell Bixler, who alleged Masterson raped her, told The Daily Beast.
Allegations against Masterson first went public in March of this year, when reporter Tony Ortega published accusations and documents on his blog, The Underground Bunker. Documents in the post showed that the Los Angeles Police Department had been investigating Masterson, who is a Scientologist, for "at least three alleged cases of rape or sodomy of women who were also Scientologists and who claim they were pressured by the Church of Scientology not to contact police or go public with their accusations."
The Church of Scientology has not responded to Business Insider's request for comment, but told The Daily Beast that it was "per se defamatory to accuse the Church of engaging in, fostering, or covering up criminal behavior."
In a statement in March, the LAPD confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that it was conducting an investigation. The LAPD said that three women came forward and said that they were sexually assaulted by Masterson in the early 2000s, when he was a star on "That '70s Show."
In November, reporter Yashar Ali followed up in a piece for HuffPost and reported that four women had by then accused Masterson of raping them in the early 2000s. But according to Ali, the LAPD investigation, which started in 2016, had stalled.
Netflix's response to the 'Weinstein ripple effect'
Since The New York Times broke a story unearthing decades of sexual misconduct allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein in early October, more stories about powerful men in the film and television industry and beyond have circulated. These men include actor Kevin Spacey, who has been accused of sexual harassment by over half a dozen men, besides other allegations including that he began a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy. The wave of post-Weinstein accusations also include stories of comedian Louis C.K. masturbating in front of multiple women, which he confirmed were "true."
Masterson, Spacey, and Louis C.K. all worked with Netflix.
When the allegations against Spacey came out, Netflix suspended production on "House of Cards," and announced it would be rewriting the final season without his character, Frank Underwood. And after allegations against Louis C.K. came out, Netflix canceled his second stand-up special that was supposed to premiere exclusively on the streaming service.
But Netflix hasn't made any such moves since the allegations of sexual assault against Masterson have surfaced. Netflix did acknowledge the allegations, telling HuffPost, "We are aware of the allegations and the subsequent investigation, and will respond if developments occur."
For Chrissie Carnell Bixler, that is not nearly enough.
She told The Daily Beast, "I was sick when I read Netflix's statement on continuing with 'The Ranch' and continuing their working relationship with a man who has violently raped and abused so many women." Bixler also said that Netflix's inaction "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."
In 2018, 20 more episodes of "The Ranch" are coming to Netflix.
Netflix told Business Insider that it does not have any further comment at this time. Representatives for Masterson have not responded to a request for comment.