Danny Masterson Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

Former The Ranch actor Danny Masterson posted a photo on Monday from a hospital bed after getting surgery on his right shoulder.

“New shoulder, who dis?” he jokingly captioned.

The That 70s Show alum was spotted in Hollywood on Thursday with a sling on his arm as he celebrated his half-sister Alanna Masterson’s 30th birthday. He hasn’t commented on his injury on social media or in interviews, so the cause of it remains unknown to his fans.

Masterson has been in the headlines numerous times in recent weeks following the release of Part 5 of the Netflix comedy series The Ranch. He had starred in the series as Rooster Bennett, older brother of Ashton Kutcher’s character Colt Bennett, since season 1, but was fired from the show in December after five women came forward with rape allegations against him in 2017.

Netflix announced Masterson’s departure from the show with a statement in December, writing, “After discussing with the producers, we’ve decided to write Danny Masterson off of The Ranch. Yesterday was his last day of work, and we’ll make new episodes in 2018 without him.”

Masterson quickly responded with a statement of his own, defending his innocence.

“I am obviously very disappointed in Netflix’s decision to write my character off of The Ranch,” he wrote. “From day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one. In this country, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, in the current political climate, it seems as if you are presumed guilty the moment you are accused. I understand and look forward to clearing my name once and for all.”

His character was written off in the final episode of Part 5’s release when he was ordered to disappear at gunpoint by a conman. Even though he was done with the show, Masterson continued to promote the latest crop of episode’s release on social media.

Fans have been vocal in the comment sections of his social media posts every since, saying they’ll boycott the show and Netflix as a whole until his character is brought back in. A Change.org petition generated 3,400 signatures in an attempt to get the streaming service’s attention.

“15 years ago these allegations were investigated by police….no charges were ever brought against Danny however Netflix has brought it upon themselves to start this witch hunt against him, and ruining what could’ve been a long run for The Ranch,” the petition read. “Let’s show them we believe in innocent until proven guilty!”