Danny Masterson’s Wife Bijou Phillips Shuts Down Social Media Amid Rape Charges

Raising Hope actress Bijou Phillips has deactivated her Instagram account after her husband, former The Ranch actor Danny Masterson, was charged with the alleged rape of three women. Masterson was charged Tuesday following a three-year investigation by Los Angeles prosecutors, and arrested on Wednesday. He is now out on bail and scheduled to be arraigned in September. Masterson’s attorney said his client is innocent.

Phillips had a public Instagram page. However, as InTouch Weekly reports, it is no longer available. Phillips, 40, married Masterson in 2011. The couple are parents to 6-year-old daughter Dianna Francis Masterson. Phillips has not publicly spoken out about the allegations against her husband, although his attorney Tom Mesereau mentioned that both Masterson and Phillips are “in complete shock” after his arrest.

Los Angeles prosecutors have charged Masterson, 44, on three counts of rape by force or fear. Prosecutors allege Masterson raped a 23-year-old woman in 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a 23-year-old woman sometime between October and December 2003. They did not charge him in two other cases police investigated, reports the Associated Press. The statute of limitations expired in one case and there was a lack of evidence in the second. If Masterson is convicted of the three charges, he could face up to 45 years in prison.

In his statement Wednesday, Mesereau said Masterson is innocent and his team is “confident that he will be exonerated when all the evidence finally comes to light and witnesses have the opportunity to testify.” Masterson and Phillips are “comforted knowing that ultimately the truth will come out,” Mesereau said, adding that those who know Masterson “know the allegations to be false. Mesereau has represented Michael Jackson and Bill Cosby in trials for sex crimes.

Masterson, who gained fame thanks to That’s ’70s Show, was fired from Netflix’s The Ranch in December 2017 after four women filed sexual assault allegations against him earlier that year. After a fifth woman accused Masterson of rape, the United Talent Agency dropped him as a client. In August 2019, four women also filed a lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, of which Masterson was a member, claiming they were stalked and harassed after accusing Masterson.

The women released a statement through their attorney Wednesday, praising the Los Angeles prosecutors while also noting the “harassment, embarrassment and re-victimization” they faced after cooperating with authorities. “We are thankful that the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office is finally seeking criminal justice against Masterson,” the women said. “We are confident that the truth will be known and hope that the charges filed today are the first steps in this long journey of healing, justice, and holding those that victimized us accountable.”