‘That ’90s Show’: Why Danny Masterson’s Hyde Won’t Be on Netflix’s ‘That ’70s Show’ Spinoff

Fans of the beloved sitcom That ’70s Show were thrilled to find out that Netflix had commissioned a 10-episode sequel series, That ’90s Show. The sequel will star Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, reprising their roles as Kitty and Red Foreman, respectively, and will focus on Leia Foreman, the daughter of Eric Foreman (Topher Grace) and Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), as she visits her grandparents for the summer. It’s unclear which other former cast members will make appearances on the show, but some are expected to return in some capacity.

One original cast member who reacted to the news was Danny Masterson, who posted about the upcoming sequel on Instagram. Masterson played Steven Hyde in the original series. “This is literally the dopest thing I’ve heard in a decade,” Masterson wrote in reference to That ’90s Show. “So f—ing excited for [Kurtwood Smith] and [Debra Jo Rupp,] two of the great humans and greatest actors on this planet. Can’t wait to watch and laugh. Same creators / writers / producers as 70s.”

However, fans should not expect Masterson to return as Hyde. Masterson is currently awaiting trial on three rape charges after years of allegations. Plus, he has a negative relationship with Netflix, being as he was fired from The Ranch due to the allegations. Masterson has pleaded not guilty to the three rape charges. If he is convicted, he faces up to 45 years in prison. However, he is not currently in custody, being as he is out on bail. His next hearing is on Nov. 10.

The first woman, identified only as Jen B., began the testimonies back in May, saying that she slipped in and out of consciousness when Masterson allegedly raped her 18 years ago. When she came to, she found Masterson on top of her, she claimed, adding that the “first thing I recall is grabbing his hair to pull him off,” reports The Associated Press. Jen B. told the court in the preliminary hearing that she and Masterson were friends of the same group with ties to the Church of Scientology. She said the alleged rape happened on April 25, 2003, when she went to Masterson’s house to pick up keys. She said that Masterson gave her a vodka drink, after which she felt very “blurry,” and she eventually vomited. She woke up to Masterson washing off her breasts In the shower and tried to fight him off but was feeling too weak. He then put her on the bed and began raping her, and while she only has brief memories of what occurred, she claimed that Masterson pulled a gun on her to threaten her. 

The second woman, Christina B., testified that she was in a five-year relationship with Masterson when he raped her in November 2001 at a house she shared with Masterson, reports The Associated Press. Christina B. accused Masterson of raping her when she slept. She kept trying to push him off and told him she did not want to have sex, she testified. “He wouldn’t stop. So I did something that I knew would make him angry and likely to get off me. I pulled his hair. He has these rules, ‘no-touch hair rule,’ ‘no-touch face rule,” she said. “He had this thing about his hair, so I knew if I pulled it really, really hard, he would get off me. But what he did was he hit me.”

Masterson hit her across the face, spat on her, and called her “white trash,” she told Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller.  Christina B. also testified that she learned from Masterson that he raped her about a month after the December 2001 incident when she was unconscious. She went to Church of Scientology officials, but they convinced her she was not raped, she testified. She did not go to the police until 2016 but reported the second incident, not the first one, which is the one Masterson was charged for.

N. Trout was the third woman to testify against Masterson. She claims she was raped in late 2003. A few nights before the alleged rape, Trout met Masterson and he continued texting her to come to his house until she finally did. “I didn’t understand why he was commanding,” she said, reports The Associated Press. “I thought perhaps he was saying it in a way to be aggressive as a form of flirting. I didn’t understand why he was so aggressive.” She did agree to go over, and she admitted to being initially flattered. However, he soon demanded she take off her clothes and get into the hot tub. She did, saying she “didn’t want any violence to take place.”

Trout testified she felt blurry in the hot tub but said she was raped upstairs in his house, first in a shower and then on his bed. Masterson’s lawyer Thomas Mesereau noted Trout included details she said she didn’t remember in a 2017 interview with police. “I’m sure you’re familiar with the way that trauma works, and when you open it up as I’ve had to do these past four years, pieces of it have become less blurry for me,” Trout replied.