Leah Remini Blasts 'Disgusting Antics' of Danny Masterson's Lawyers During Rape Trial

Leah Remini is speaking out about Danny Masterson's rape trial, and the actress has blasted what she believes to be "disgusting antics" used by the actor's lawyers. Over on Substack, Remini wrote a lengthy editorial about the case, titled "Scientology's Disgusting Antics In Court." In it, she heavily criticized Masterson's legal team, as well as the Church of Scientology, which she used to be a member of, but became its most vocal opponent in the years since she left.

"Yesterday, I attended the rape trial of celebrity Scientologist Danny Masterson," Remini began her essay. "As always, I attended to support the brave women who were raped by Danny and then later harassed, stalked, and attacked by Scientology." She then went on to explain, "Last week, Danny's Scientology-controlled lawyers tried to get me thrown out of court based on the false premise that they were going to call me to testify later on. Thankfully, the Judge rejected their attempt to have me booted."

Turning her ire onto Masterson's lead attorney, Remini wrote, "Once again, Shawn Holley, Danny Masterson's Scientology-controlled defense attorney, tried to make a spectacle about my presence in court and suggested that she would try and force me to testify. Imagine how weak Danny's case is that his defense attorney (one of several controlled by David Miscavige) has to go to these lengths. I did not know the women who were raped by Danny when they were raped; anything of interest in a criminal trial is not information I can provide as a witness. Shawn Holley, Phillip Cohen, and the rest of Danny's defense team just want to take the focus off their client, who has been charged with forcibly raping multiple women, and put it on me." Click here to read Remini's full editorial.

Masterson is best known for playing high school slacker Steven Hyde on That '70s Show for the show's eight-season run on Fox. Years later, he and Ashton Kutcher, another star of That '70s Show, re-teamed for The Ranch, on Netflix. However, in 2017, multiple women filed sexual assault reports against Masterson, prompting Netflix to fire him. Those allegations became charges on "three counts of forcible rape relating to incidents involving three women from 2001 to 2003."

The actor is currently on his second trial for sexual assault and rape. The first trial against Masterson came to a close in November, with the jury hung on all charges. Per a report from Variety, Judge Charlaine Olmedo advised the parties involved that the jurors were not able to reach a unanimous verdict after nearly two weeks of deliberation. She read a note from the jurors that stated: "We are not even close to coming to a unanimous decision on any count, and are convinced this will not change."