Danny Masterson rape allegations investigated by LAPD

What about vampires ?

The last paragraph quoted below is relevant to this thread.

Saturday on L. Ron Hubbard Way — Scientology rolled out its sneaky focus on minorities

By Tony Ortega, July 16, 2018

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A couple of weeks ago, we posted some images from this year’s “Maiden Voyage” celebration in the Caribbean. Over three weeks, the faithful at local orgs get a chance to watch some video from the event. On this past Saturday, it was “IAS Night” on L. Ron Hubbard Way in Los Angeles, and we happened to have a correspondent on the scene where the faithful gathered to watch video of dear leader David Miscavige. Here are some of our tipster’s observations of how that shindig went:

Nation of Islam Minister Tony Muhammad attended the event on LRH Way and sat in the middle of the first row. He wore his IAS Freedom Medal.

Joy Villa also attended the event on LRH Way. She also sat in the front row.

Former NAACP figure Fred Shaw also attended and sat in the front row. He was also heavily featured in the video.

Four other things stood out for me about the video.

First, an unnamed LAPD Captain — in uniform — praised the Church of Scientology by name (and not one of the front groups, like Drug-Free World). The Danny Masterson accusers might have some thoughts on that.

Continued at https://tonyortega.org/2018/07/16/s...ogy-rolls-out-its-sneaky-focus-on-minorities/

VIDEO: Danny Masterson accuser confronts ‘stalker’ outside her Los Angeles home

By Tony Ortega, August 25, 2018

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Last night, Danny Masterson accuser Chrissie Carnell posted images of a man who was parked in a pickup truck across from her house that she and her husband, At the Drive In rocker Cedric Bixler-Zavala, suspected was a private investigator working for Masterson or the Church of Scientology. She posted photos of the man to Twitter, and said she reported him to the LAPD. She also took videos. We have those videos for you.

“I was in my room answering emails and messages and my phone was acting insane,” Chrissie tells us. “It kept flashing. My texts kept scrambling. Texts would vanish then reappear. Cedric finally came in and told me that a guy had been sitting outside our house for over an hour. That’s when I went down to take a photo of license plate. That’s what [LAPD sergeant Alex] Vargas and [LA Assistant District Attorney Reinhold] Mueller always advised me to do. This guy’s reaction was insane.”

In the video, you can barely make out that the man, whom we have not identified, asks Chrissie if he’s filming her and then calls her a “bitch.”

<snipped>

The man taunted the couple as they said they were calling the police. In the third video, you can see that he has a laptop in the cab with him as well as his phone.

<snipped>

After Chrissie called 911, the man drove away. She says they waited some 45 minutes for LAPD officers to arrive.

“We had to give the backstory and one officer became really aggressive and said he’s not filing a report. His superior came down because I threatened to report him. The superior came and saw the videos and confirmed instantly that his equipment in his truck was hacking shit.” Eventually, the police did take an assault and stalking report because of the spitting, and took a copy of the photo Chrissie took of the man’s license plate.

We’ve written at length about the strange activity that Chrissie and Cedric have been subjected to since she came forward as one of four women accusing Danny Masterson of rape. In Austin, their family dog was killed in suspicious circumstances, which was one of the reasons they chose to move to Los Angeles.

Chrissie first reported her allegations to police in the fall of 2016, and three other women also came forward to report being violently raped by Masterson. The district attorney’s office received the investigation from the LAPD in April 2017, but so far there is still no word from the agency about whether it intends to charge the Scientologist actor.

More at https://tonyortega.org/2018/08/25/v...nfronts-stalker-outside-her-los-angeles-home/

Kiosk-Gate: LAPD told Masterson accuser its Hollywood site was compromised by Scientology

By Tony Ortega, August 30, 2018

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You probably saw the story that hit yesterday, reporting that American Atheists had convinced the LAPD to remove a Scientology kiosk from its Hollywood Division station house, but the police department refused to turn over any information about what it was doing there in the first place.

What the stories about that kiosk didn’t mention was something we reported back in March 2017 when we first broke the story that Scientologist actor Danny Masterson was being investigated by the LAPD over allegations that he had violently raped multiple women.

In that initial story, we revealed that one of the three women who had come forward (a fourth came forward later) wrote a scathing letter to the LAPD’s then-chief, Charlie Beck, complaining about the shabby way the investigation was going. She made numerous complaints about how she and the other accusers were being treated, but she also specifically referred to being told by LAPD Detective Esther Reyes that they needed to take her case out of the Hollywood station house on Wilcox Avenue because it was a conduit to the Church of Scientology:

“I was told that my report was transferred out of the Wilcox location into downtown due to known leaks within the Hollywood division when I received a phone call from Detective Reyes later that day…She warned me that I am not to speak to any other officer or anyone claiming to be an officer,” Victim A wrote to the LAPD chief.

We also learned later from reporting by the Huffington Post that another of the victims, who had come forward to the LAPD initially in 2004, was told that the entire contents of her file from that time had gone missing after Scientology overwhelmed that investigation with affidavits calling the accuser a liar.

Now, the cozy relationship between the LAPD and the Church of Scientology has been illustrated in an absolutely stunning way, with the church placing one of the kiosks that you normally have to go to a Scientology “Ideal Org” to see placed right inside the Hollywood Community Police Station on Wilcox Avenue.

The LAPD isn’t talking, but we imagine that Scientology assured the police department that the kiosk was not religious in nature but instead promoted its “social betterment” front groups, which Scientology claims are secular. A close look at the kiosk shows that it was promoting three Scientology initiatives: Its “The Way to Happiness” moral code booklet, its Drug-Free World initiative, and its “human rights” campaigns.

Scientology would no doubt disagree with American Atheists lawyer Geoffrey T. Blackwell, who wrote in his August 13 complaint letter to the LAPD that the kiosk was “promoting the tenets of a particular religion,” but that letter was enough to convince the police department to remove the kiosk.

It’s especially galling that the LAPD would demonstrate its chummy relationship to Scientology at exactly the time that it’s been under some fire for how slowly the Masterson investigation has dragged on, and with reports that Masterson’s accusers have been subjected to bizarre incidents of intimidation and harassment.

On Saturday, we reported that one of the accusers, Chrissie Carnell, confronted a man in a pickup truck who had been parked for more than an hour outside her Los Angeles house. He responded by calling her a “bitch” and spitting his gum at her. Chrissie also told us that he referred to Chrissie’s husband, At the Drive In frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala, with the word “enemy.” But what most seemed to distress Chrissie was that the LAPD officer who responded to her call was rude and, in her words, “aggressive,” and refused to take a report, even after seeing the video of the man spitting at her. (His supervisor arrived and did take the report.)

Since then, we left a voicemail with the man in the pickup truck, but he has not called us back. Another Masterson accuser is claiming that the same man was seen outside her house, and the man was also recognized by one of the key witnesses in the rape investigation.

Carnell tweeted that the LAPD is taking the case seriously, but the lead detective on the case is reportedly on vacation until September 10.

The LAPD also didn’t respond at all yesterday when another Masterson victim reported being followed in a local home improvement store by a man she recognized not only as a Scientology official, but he was wearing a full Sea Org uniform and was not trying to conceal that he was following her.

It’s now been almost two years since Chrissie Carnell and the other accusers came forward with their allegations to the LAPD, and 16 months since the case went to the LA District Attorney’s Office.

We previously reported that the managers of that office have already signed off on charging Masterson under a harsh law that could see him facing 25-years to life in prison — which Carnell later confirmed in a tweet — but a final decision whether to charge Masterson has still not been made by DA Jackie Lacey herself.

Scientology has not shied away from trying to influence Lacey as well. Lacey was targeted in a public relations stunt by Scientology when it had Mike Rinder’s estranged daughter, Taryn Teutsch, pose with the DA at a women’s rights event in May.

We sent a records request to the DA’s office for copies of any correspondence between Jackie Lacey and Teutsch or the Church of Scientology.

We haven’t received any response.

Source: https://tonyortega.org/2018/08/30/k...ollywood-site-was-compromised-by-scientology/

Juliette Lewis wants on ‘Red Table Talk’ — and here’s what Jada Smith should ask her

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, November 6, 2018

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By now you’ve no doubt seen various recaps of yesterday’s “Red Table Talk” episode featuring Leah Remini and Jada Pinkett Smith, including our own.

[ See https://whyweprotest.net/threads/wi...-500-to-scientology.29143/page-2#post-2764256 ]

As we said yesterday, Leah made the most of her appearance, and a huge new audience was exposed to Scientology’s controversies.

But for us, one of the most interesting things about the show occurred before the episode actually aired.

When Jada put up a preview of the show on Instagram, one person she heard from was Scientologist actress and musician Juliette Lewis.

<snipped>

What Juliette is offering here is classic Scientology celebrity handling: Ignore the controversy brought up by others, and offer to talk about how Scientology has helped in her life.

And if Jada had Juliette on the show, that’s what she’d get — a string of vague promises that Scientology is helpful, can unlock your potential, but maybe isn’t for everyone. (Exactly, for example, the script that Jenna Elfman followed on a recent appearance on People TV when she was asked specifically about the controversies revealed in Leah’s series and the HBO film Going Clear.)

If Jada is game and has Juliette on her show, we hope Jada would ask some real questions — and specifically about the allegations regarding Scientologist actor Danny Masterson.

Masterson has been under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles District Attorney for more than two years now regarding allegations by four separate women (three of them who were Scientologists) that they were violently raped by him. We are still waiting for DA Jackie Lacey to make up her mind about whether to charge Masterson.

In the meantime, we’ve learned a lot about Masterson’s accusers, and about their connections to other Scientology celebrities.

We’ve told you about the accuser we’re calling Victim B, for example, a Scientologist who reported her 2003 rape to the church itself. Scientology responded by putting her through expensive counseling, trying to convince her that being a victim in this lifetime was related to what she had done in her past lives, eons ago.

A Daily Beast article revealed that Victim B’s mother wrote multiple letters to Scientology leader David Miscavige at the time, complaining about the way her daughter was being treated. We have obtained copies of those letters, and they also mention how Victim B’s own young daughter was also affected by the church’s reaction to her allegations.

At the time, Victim B lived just two blocks from Juliette Lewis and her husband at the time, skateboarder Steve Berra. Berra had a daughter from a previous relationship who was so close to Victim B’s family, Berra’s daughter went on family vacations with Victim B’s family.

But when Victim B reported her rape by Masterson to the church, the letter from Victim B’s mother says, Berra was instructed by the church to keep his daughter away from Victim B’s family. The letter says that the family appealed to the church and the children were allowed to see each other again, but then the separation order came down a second time.

Victim B herself was close to Juliette and Berra, but after she made her allegations to the church, she never saw them again.

It is literally impossible that Juliette Lewis was unaware that Victim B had made her rape allegations to the church, or that Juliette’s then-stepdaughter was prevented from spending time with Victim B’s family.

And for that reason, we really hope Juliette does go on Jada’s show, and here are some questions Jada should ask her:

— Why would the Church of Scientology have Juliette keep her stepdaughter from spending time with a family she enjoyed being with? A family she had vacationed with?

— How does it make sense for Scientology to have a rape victim pay $15,000 for past-life counseling to find out why she deserved to be a victim in her current lifetime?

— According to the documents, Victim B’s daughter was traumatized by the disconnection from her close friend. Was Juliette’s stepdaughter similarly affected? Did she ever ask her?

— Why does Scientology discourage victims from reporting their rape to the police? If Juliette knew that a close friend had been raped by another Scientologist, why didn’t she encourage Victim B to go to the police herself? Why, instead, did she cut off contact with her?

In 2004, a little more than a year after her incident, Victim B defied the church and reported her allegations to the LAPD. As the Huffington Post reported, Scientology responded by having numerous members submit affidavits disagreeing with Victim B’s account and the LAPD closed the investigation. Her file then mysteriously disappeared — a fact that came to light when the police went to re-open her case in 2016, after she and the other three victims came forward.

Scientology, in other words, circled the wagons in order to kill the LAPD’s investigation in 2004. Masterson himself, through an attorney, paid a settlement to Victim B to keep her quiet.

Sure, Juliette, we’d love to hear your perspective on all of this. Should be a good time.

More at https://tonyortega.org/2018/11/06/j...alk-and-heres-what-jada-smith-should-ask-her/

Leah Remini: Los Angeles DA Jackie Lacey, do your job already

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, December 1, 2018

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Actress Leah Remini tells us she’s had enough. More than two years ago, the first of four women came forward and reported to law enforcement that they had been violently raped by Scientologist actor Danny Masterson. The police investigation is complete. By February, the managers of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office had signed off on charging Masterson under a harsh law that could put him in prison for life. And still, two years after the investigation began, Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey has not made a decision about filing charges.

In the meantime, the victims tell us that they have been the subject of intense harassment. And now, we learn, an LAPD detective is also being followed and literally fears for his safety.

We checked in with Leah Remini, who tells us she’s incensed at the way the accusers have been treated.

“I don’t know how many times a victim can be victimized by Scientology and Scientologists,” she tells us.

“These brave women first told their stories to their ‘church’ looking for justice and they got none. Instead what they received was Scientology justice, which consisted of the victims being made responsible for their own rapes. That is what Scientology teaches—that you are somehow responsible for your ‘condition.’ No matter your age, if you were raped, molested, or beaten, Scientology beliefs say you did something to ‘pull it in,’ going so far as to ask children if they—in a past life—had raped, molested or beaten someone. This is Scientology.”

We’ve previously reported that the accuser we’re calling Victim B, after reporting her rape allegation to the church, was forced to spend some $15,000 on Scientology past-life counseling to try to find out what evil thing she had done perhaps millions of years ago that resulted in her being a victim in this lifetime.

<snipped>

“When Mike and I went to the authorities, on every level they told us, what evidence is there to justify a raid? We showed them Scientology policy on how to keep accurate records, we told them look what evidence was found in the 1977 raid, and all of the senior executives at the Gold Base who said they were beaten and imprisoned. What more do you need? They said they needed someone new to come forward. We gave them Valerie Haney. And what happened? Nothing.”

Last year, as part of her second season of her A&E series Scientology and the Aftermath, Leah filmed an episode interviewing the first three Masterson accusers, who had all been Scientologists. But she convinced A&E to postpone airing the episode when the DA’s office asked her to.

“We held off from airing our show because we did not want to hurt an ongoing investigation and yet, we are now told that Jackie Lacey has everything she needs to move forward with charges and has failed to act. And all the while, our victims have been harassed and followed by private investigators, followed and harassed by Scientologists, their phones and computers hacked… while the DA and the LAPD do nothing,” she says.

“I am so disgusted with law enforcement when it comes to Scientology, I really believed in the truth, in justice and this experience has left me so heartbroken for these courageous women who have yet to have anyone be their champion. What is it going to take?”

More at https://tonyortega.org/2018/11/30/leah-remini-los-angeles-da-jackie-lacey-do-your-job-already/

Leah Remini will air episode with Danny Masterson's accusers on February 18

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, January 15, 2019

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The Underground Bunker has learned that an episode of A&E’s Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath featuring Scientologist actor Danny Masterson’s accusers will air on February 18, more than a year after it was pulled over concerns by the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office.

<snipped>

There is also a new “special” episode of Aftermath airing tonight. It features Marc and Claire Headley, Amy Scobee, and Jefferson Hawkins telling Leah and Mike fascinating tales from their lives as Sea Org executives confined to Scientology’s secretive international management compound, known as both Int Base and Gold Base, located near Hemet, California.

More at https://tonyortega.org/2019/01/15/l...ith-danny-mastersons-accusers-on-february-18/

Danny Masterson’s attorneys pounce on A&E’s plans for resurrecting an ‘Aftermath’ episode

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, January 17, 2019

Quote:

Danny Masterson’s attorneys wasted no time reacting to the news that his accusers will be featured in an upcoming episode of A&E’s Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.

On Monday, we reported that the episode was being resurrected and has been scheduled to air on February 18 after it was originally filmed in 2017 for Remini’s second season, but was pulled at the request of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office.

The episode featured three women who allege that they were violently raped by the Scientologist actor, but the DA’s office asked Remini to hold it back as they considered the allegations. Now, more than two years since the investigation of Masterson began, DA Jackie Lacey still has yet to make a decision to file charges, even though her office has recommended that she do so.

What’s the hold up? One of Masterson’s accusers tells us that a member of the DA’s office admitted to her several months ago that Scientology’s involvement in the matter was the reason for the delay. “When I asked him what was taking so long, he said, ‘Scientology. Without going into it, that’s the only way to summarize it.’”

One person who noticed our story was Masterson’s attorney Andrew Brettler, who later that day sent an email to A&E about the network resurrecting the episode about his client:

Tony Ortega is reporting that AETN plans to air the Danny Masterson episode of Leah Remini’s anti-Scientology program on Feb. 18. When we last spoke about this (almost a year ago) you informed us that the episode would not air given the concerns we raised, the information we provided to you about the false and defamatory claims asserted against our client by several unreliable and biased sources, and the DA’s failure to prosecute Mr. Masterson, or charge him with any crime over the past 15+ years. Please advise.

Continued at https://tonyortega.org/2019/01/17/d...-plans-for-resurrecting-an-aftermath-episode/

They can threaten all they want, it's going to be aired.

Accused rapist Danny Masterson hangs out with pal Ashton Kutcher at Scientology wedding

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, January 29, 2019

Quote:

More than two years ago the Los Angeles Police Department began an investigation into the allegations of three former Scientologists and a fourth woman who say that they were violently raped by Scientologist actor Danny Masterson between 2001 and 2004. Since April 2017, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office has been preparing a case and waiting for DA Jackie Lacey to make a decision whether to file charges.

Our sources tell us that Lacey is very close to making a decision, but in the meantime, Danny Masterson has not been arrested or indicted, and he’s making the most of it. On Saturday, he joined his former The Ranch and That ’70s Show costar Ashton Kutcher at a Scientology wedding in Napa Valley, despite efforts by Kutcher and his wife, actress Mila Kunis, to keep their involvement under wraps.

<snipped>

Our sources tell us that Masterson’s criminal defense attorney, Tom Mesereau, has complained recently to the DA’s office that Masterson is unfairly unable to pursue more career options as long as DA Jackie Lacey delays her decision whether to file charges.

That might mean that Masterson is hoping to return to The Ranch, which is scheduled to begin filming its fourth season soon.

Kutcher has not been involved in Scientology, but he is known for championing human rights causes, particularly involving violence against women. He has not made any public statements about the accusations against his friend Masterson, which were alleged to have occurred during the time they were filming That ’70s Show.

More detail about the allegations faced by Masterson can be found at our recent story announcing that A&E is planning to run its delayed episode of Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath featuring interviews with Masterson’s accusers on February 18.

More at https://tonyortega.org/2019/01/29/a...th-pal-ashton-kutcher-at-scientology-wedding/

Danny Masterson’s Rape Accusers Call Out Pal Ashton Kutcher: ‘Silence Protects the Abusers’

Masterson and Kutcher were spotted partying at a Scientology wedding while Kutcher, an outspoken advocate for women, has remained silent on the rape allegations against his friend.

By Amy Zimmerman, The Daily Beast, January 30, 2019

Quote:

On Tuesday, journalist Tony Ortega published a detailed post about A-list actor Ashton Kutcher’s recent appearance at a friend’s wedding. More than just party reporting, Ortega’s article shed light on Kutcher’s continued friendship with Danny Masterson, who is currently under investigation for multiple alleged incidents of sexual assault (four women have reportedly come forward to the LAPD with rape allegations against Masterson).

“Danny Masterson has not been arrested or indicted, and he’s making the most of it,” the Ortega report began. “On Saturday, he joined his former The Ranch and That ’70s Show costar Ashton Kutcher at a Scientology wedding in Napa Valley, despite efforts by Kutcher and his wife, actress Mila Kunis, to keep their involvement under wraps.”

An accompanying photo that was “leaked” on social media showed Kutcher and Masterson posing in a group. Additionally, a photo of the seating chart revealed that Ashton and Mila Kutcher had been placed at a table with Danny and Bijou Phillips Masterson. The bride, Brittany Brisco, and groom, The Ranch actor Justin Mooney, were married by The Sandlot actor Patrick Renna, who, like Mooney and Masterson, is a “longtime Scientologist,” according to Ortega.

Ortega further reported that, “Our sources tell us that Masterson’s criminal defense attorney, Tom Mesereau, has complained recently to the DA’s office that Masterson is unfairly unable to pursue more career options as long as DA Jackie Lacey delays her decision whether to file charges.”

Kutcher’s ongoing—albeit subdued—relationship with Masterson, and his failure to make a public statement regarding the accusations against his friend, speak volumes. Kutcher is an outspoken (and controversial) advocate against sex trafficking, and has recently spoken out about the steps he has taken to promote gender equity in the workplace.

In a new statement to The Daily Beast, one of Masterson’s accusers, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, wrote that, “Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have positioned themselves as champions for women, children, fighting against sexual abuses and sex trafficking. Public supporters of the Me Too movement and Time’s Up. Ashton and Mila were at the forefront marching in the Women’s March on March 13, 2018, in Los Angeles.”

“As much as I applaud them for standing up for women, I am left confused and heartbroken as to why they refuse to stand up for all the women they know who have been violently raped by their friend Danny Masterson.” (Both Masterson and Kutcher did not respond to requests for comment.)

Before he was written out of the show in December 2017, The Ranch was a testament to Masterson and Kutcher’s friendship. The former That ‘70s Show co-stars collaborated on the project both as actors and producers. While talking about the series in 2016, Kutcher referred to Masterson as one of his best friends, adding, “That ‘70s Show was my first job, and this guy was an absolute mentor to me, not just as performer but as a person.” The alleged sexual assaults occurred when That ‘70s Show was still on air.

The allegations against Masterson were first published by Ortega on his Scientology blog The Underground Bunker in March 2017. As The Daily Beast previously summarized, “In March 2017, news broke that the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating allegations made by three women who said that the actor assaulted them in the early 2000s. The disturbing allegations included anally raping a girlfriend while she was unconscious, and sexually assaulting and choking a woman at a party.” Masterson has repeatedly denied all allegations of sexual assault.

In November 2017, Yashar Ali reported that the case against Masterson had inexplicably stalled. “In April 2017, police referred the case to the district attorney,” The Huffington Post piece detailed. “Since then, the district attorney’s office has examined the evidence turned over by LAPD and conducted its own investigation. Despite compelling―what one law enforcement source described as ‘overwhelming’—evidence, the charges have not been approved for filing. The evidence includes audiotapes, emails sent to and from Scientology officers at the time the alleged rapes happened, forensic computer evidence and a threatening handwritten letter Masterson sent to one of the alleged victims, according to two people with knowledge of the evidence in the district attorney’s possession.”

“Masterson is a longtime member of the Church of Scientology, an organization that has a history of covering up allegations of misconduct leveled against the organization and its members,” Ali continued. “At least three of the women who have accused him of rape were also Scientologists and reported the incidents to the Church of Scientology at the time.”

A subsequent Daily Beast investigation obtained two letters from the mother of one of the actor’s sexual-assault accusers, Victim B. Victim B’s mother sent the letters to Scientology officials in 2004, detailing her daughter’s alleged assault and her frustration with how the church was handling the case.

“I do not know what to say,” Victim B’s mother wrote in one letter. “[Victim B] could be dead today and we could all be confronting the fact that a Scientologist murdered another during a bazaar [sic] sex ritual. The media would have a field day with this.”

“Where is the Justice code?” she continued. “Celebs are exempt from these codes?”

At the time, the Church of Scientology denied any and all allegations of attempting to silence Masterson’s accusers, telling The Daily Beast, “The Church adamantly denies that it ever ignores any allegations of criminal behavior, especially at the expense of alleged victims. What is being stated is utterly untrue. This has nothing to do with religion. This story is being manipulated to push a bigoted agenda. The Church follows all laws and cooperates with law enforcement. Any statement or implication to the contrary is false.”

Netflix announced in December 2017 that they would be writing Masterson out of future episodes of The Ranch, with Masterson issuing a response maintaining his innocence. As The Daily Beast previously noted, “It took the streaming service nine months from when the rape allegations first came to light to dismiss Masterson.” But Netflix proceeded to release new episodes of The Ranch featuring Masterson—his last batch before the streaming service decided to sever ties.

In response to The Ranch’s “Part 5” return, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, one of Masterson’s accusers, told The Daily Beast in a statement that Netflix’s actions were akin to “rub[bing] salt in our wounds.”

“Is Danny Masterson still co-executive producer of The Ranch? You knew you had to fire him, but you do a bunch of reshoots so you can finish our rapist’s storyline up and give him a respectable send off. And there he is on TV in the new season. Kevin Spacey? Fired on the spot. Production halted. Ed Westwick? Louis C.K.? Are there active investigations into these accused men? Do you just not believe us?”

In June of 2018, The Daily Beast reached out to Netflix to ask if Masterson had retained his producer credit on The Ranch and did not receive a comment. On Tuesday we asked again, and have yet to receive a response.

Last year, Kutcher opened up about the advice his wife, Mila Kunis, gave him on supporting women in the #MeToo era. “You know, the best advice that I got relative to this entire thing came from my wife, and she said, ‘Men have had hundreds of years to solve this problem and to talk about this and figure it out,’ and it’s probably the best thing, at this point, for me to just shut up and listen for a little bit,” Kutcher said.

To that, Bixler has a message for Kutcher: “Ashton, on February 18, 2019, I implore you to shut up and listen as we tell our stories on Leah Remini’s Scientology and the Aftermath. Shut up and listen as we recount the most vicious, degrading, and humiliating acts committed on us by your pal Danny Masterson. Acts that have nearly destroyed us. You knew all of us women. You and I were friends. So please do shut up and listen. Then it’s on you whether you continue to remain silent, but let’s be clear here, silence protects the abusers. Never the abused.”

Victim B, a Masterson accuser who has remained anonymous, echoed Bixler’s sentiments, telling The Daily Beast that, “Ashton personally knew each victim. I appeared on an episode of Punk’d, I rushed him in my car to make a flight after he finished a That ‘70s Show episode. And he knew the others as well. If Ashton doesn’t believe women he knows—we should think he really supports women? #IBelieveHer?”

Source: https://www.thedailybeast.com/danny...l-ashton-kutcher-silence-protects-the-abusers

A&E Shelves Danny Masterson Sexual Assault Episode After Scientology Smear Campaign

An episode of A&E’s ‘Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath’ that focused on the rape allegations against actor Danny Masterson was set to air this month. But not anymore.

By Amy Zimmerman, The Daily Beast, February 11, 2019

Quote:

A long-awaited episode of A&E’s Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath that will focus on the sexual-assault allegations against actor Danny Masterson has been delayed again, following an allegedly fraudulent campaign against the series.

“We are experiencing classic Scientology attacks,” one of Masterson’s accusers who participated in the episode—and has chosen to remain anonymous—told The Daily Beast. “The week that the decision was made by the A&E network to move forward with the airing of the episode we did for Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, letters started circulating from various sources directed at A&E and Disney calling for the show to be taken off the air, declaring the show and its contributors to be bigots and many other hurtful names. And just this week we discover that at least one of these letters was in fact forged and done without authorization. We were put through these manufactured attacks. Scientology pushed and circulated these letters. The very organization that silenced us victims when we reported being violently raped, is still actively willing to use any means—there is seemingly no end to what they are willing to do just to insure our voices are taken from us.”

The episode, which features interviews with multiple accusers, was previously held due to the ongoing criminal investigation against Masterson. As Tony Ortega reported in 2017, “We’re told that earlier this year, Remini and her co-star Mike Rinder met with the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, which expressed concerns about the episode airing while it is considering whether or not to file charges against Masterson. Remini, not wanting to jeopardize the investigation, asked A&E not to air the episode, and the network agreed.”

More recently, Ortega reported that the upcoming episode was set to air on February 18, writing, “A&E has decided that DA Jackie Lacey has had enough time to make up her mind about charges, and will air the episode.”

A&E told The Daily Beast, “The episode was actually never on the schedule for February 18. That was incorrect info that was circulating but we never announced that date. We don’t have an air date for the episode yet but I will definitely let you know as soon as we do.” But according to sources with knowledge of the production, they were previously assured that the episode would air in February.

“The campaign to silence us has sadly worked,” the accuser told The Daily Beast. “Our voices will again NOT be heard. And while Scientology carries on with its campaign, we are now processing the weak apology from A&E for grossly misleading us and letting us spend all these hours working with their production company these many weeks, only to be told, no. Your voices are to remain unheard.” She emphasized that she “truly appreciates Leah [Remini] and Mike [Rinder] and how much they’ve been fighting for all of us victims,” explaining that it’s been almost two years since she and the other participating accusers agreed to share their stories for the episode.

In the months before the Danny Masterson episode might have aired, the Scientology website STAND (Scientologists Taking Action Against Discrimination) has posted a number of letters in protest of A&E Networks and the Walt Disney Company. They posted a December 2018 letter on USC letterhead addressed to Disney CEO Bob Iger, from Rev. Dr. Cecil Murray of the Cecil Murray Center for Religion and Community Engagement. The Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray is the former pastor of First African Methodist Episcopal Church. According to the USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture’s website, “During his 27 years as FAME’s pastor, [Rev.] Murray transformed a small congregation into a megachurch that brought jobs, housing and corporate investment into South Los Angeles neighborhoods.” The website continues, “Murray remains a vibrant force in the Los Angeles faith community through his leadership of the USC Cecil Murray Center for Civic Engagement.”

A 2011 L.A. Sentinel article shows the Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray participating in the dedication service for a new Church of Scientology Community Center. In a separate video, the Reverend states that, “I’ve had the pleasure of working with many members of the Church over the past three decades. And so I know that at last there are people with sufficient dedication, sufficient guts and sufficient fortitude to carry on and make this city and world into a better place.”

Given his involvement with Scientology, there was little reason to doubt the veracity of the December letter, in which the Reverend Dr. Cecil Murray allegedly wrote, “We need to allow other views than yet another hateful assault on peaceful religions.” The letter continued, “It is time sir, to act with courage and compassion—as would the great Walt Disney and many of his contemporaries—and not merely turn a blind eye to the discrimination and persecution by the few with a mouthpiece, against the many who diligently seek to follow their religious convictions.” (Rev. Murray did not respond to requests for comment for this story.)

Chrissie Carnell Bixler, one of Danny Masterson’s accusers, responded to the letter in a tweet, writing, “‪@USC ‪@usccrcc & Cecil Murray are saying victims of rape, child molestation, & abuses that happened within ‪#Scientology are not victims? We are a hate group, because we report these crimes & speak out about crimes committed on us by Scientology? Stop shaming/silencing victims!”

A woman named Robin Athlyn Thompson, a brand marketer, reached out to USC. In an interview, Thompson told Ortega, “I wrote to the brand protection office telling them that I’m a fellow marketer, a brand steward. I explained that their website prohibits the use of their brand without permission. And it was unbelievable to me that USC would take this kind of opinion.”

On Twitter, Thompson posted the response that she received from Brenda Maceo, the vice president of public relations and marketing at USC. Maceo informed Thompson that, “Reverend Murray has stated that he was not the author of the letter that was addressed to Mr. Iger on a discontinued letterhead. We are currently looking into the misuse of the university’s trademarks.”

The senior director of communications at USC, Lauren Bartlett, confirmed to The Daily Beast that the email from Maceo was authentic. She also forwarded USC’s official statement, which reads, in part, “The USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture and the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement has become aware of an effort to link the Centers, our past programs and affiliates to a campaign targeting A&E Networks programming. CRCC and the Murray Center has never taken any position on programming or made any demands on A&E Networks or the Walt Disney Company, and will not do so.”

In a statement to The Daily Beast, a Scientology representative wrote, “I have no knowledge of the internal discussions at USC. I was informed, however, that to avoid any misinterpretation, intentional or otherwise, that would be used to detract from his message, Rev. Murray’s office sent a new copy of his letter to Bob Iger on his own personal letterhead.”

A second letter attributed to Rev. Dr. Cecil Murray and addressed to Bob Iger, dated January 28, 2018, referenced the first, beginning, “I wrote you on 13 December 2018.” The January letter is not on USC letterhead. It continued, “The African-American community was aggrieved when they learned that you had not answered me. They felt that possibly you were slighting me. I could not persuade them otherwise as I have not heard from you.”

The Daily Beast previously reported on two 2004 letters from the mother of one of Masterson’s accusers, which were sent to Scientology officials including David Miscavige, the leader of the Church of Scientology. The letters include details about the alleged sexual assault, and accuse Scientology of failing to adequately address the allegations, instead subjecting her daughter to months of costly auditing intensives. The mother wrote that her daughter had been, “called a liar and under the threat of com ev and expulsions for months,” and was even pressured to meet with her accused rapist “because Danny wants to talk to her.”

“Where is the Justice code?” she asked. “Celebs are exempt from these codes?” Later in the January 2004 letter, she pleaded, “The fate of any young girl going anywhere near Danny lies in our hands, please help me.”

At the time of that Daily Beast report, the law firm Lavely & Singer sent a response on Danny Masterson’s behalf, writing, in part, “There is no new evidence. The ‘documents’ Ms. Zimmerman refers to were created by the mother of the woman who made these allegations against Danny Masterson…The LAPD has all of this this information and twice now has thoroughly investigated these claims, which Danny has disputed and denied from day one.”

The Church of Scientology denied that “it ever ignores any allegations of criminal behavior, especially at the expense of alleged victims,” telling The Daily Beast that, “The Church follows all laws and cooperates with law enforcement. Any statement or implication to the contrary is false.”

The aforementioned Masterson accuser who participated in the Scientology and the Aftermath episode told The Daily Beast that she spent weeks checking to see if the episode had been officially scheduled for the date that she had been told—February 18. “We have been in a holding pattern in this criminal case for over two years,” she explained. “For months we have been awaiting the decision on what criminal charges will be filed against the man that attacked each of us. Decision pending. That’s what we hear week after week from our lead detective and the DA.”

“It was nearly impossible to find the strength to show up in a room with all those lights and people,” she recalled. “Many hours and tears. So many. At times I had to stop filming to actually catch my breath. And now, we are told that the date that was given to us can’t be met. No air date set or time frame given.”

“Danny Masterson silenced us,” the anonymous accuser concluded. “Scientology silenced us. We each still found the courage to come forward and report and cooperate with all agencies investigating these heinous crimes. Now we are powerless and must sit and await action on the part of the District Attorney of Los Angeles. This case and our work with the appropriate law enforcement agencies has been going on without a break since 2016. On the approaching eve of our episode coming to the public, we are gutted and silenced once again. But this time it’s A&E network delivering the message.”

Source: https://www.thedailybeast.com/aande...ault-episode-after-scientology-smear-campaign

‘Scientology and the Aftermath’ shelved two episodes, delayed one in season three

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, February 12, 2019

Quote:

A few weeks ago, our inside sources at A&E had us believing that Leah Remini’s third season would play out this way: A final “regular” episode on February 5 (which did happen, featuring Jay Wexler and Yulanda Williams), then a “special” episode tonight (which is not happening), and then the long-delayed episode featuring actor Danny Masterson’s rape accusers on Monday, February 18.

As Amy Zimmerman at the Daily Beast reported last night, however, the Masterson episode has been delayed indefinitely, and A&E claimed it had never set a date of February 18, even after high-ranking executives at the network did, indeed, tell Masterson’s accusers that they planned to air it on that date.

<snipped>

Why the double-talk from A&E? Well, we’re learning that A&E has had more than a few issues with Leah Remini’s third season, with a couple of cancelled episodes we can now tell you about.

— One episode, titled “Dismissed Attackers,” was filmed with a young former Scientologist from Florida about the abuse he had gone through in the church, and about being disconnected from his Scientology family. Besides filming the episode, he also accepted help from the Aftermath Foundation. But he later told Leah that he was so unwell emotionally, he threatened to commit suicide if the episode was aired. So it was shelved, to great expense.

— Another episode was scheduled for December 11 which was never shown. It was titled “The Disappeared,” and it featured a woman trying to reach her uncle, Church of Scientology International’s nominal “president,” Heber Jentzsch, who at 83 lives at Scientology’s secretive Gold Base in California.

The episode not only showed how difficult the church made it for the woman to reach her uncle, but it portrayed the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department as complicit in Scientology’s total control of worker lives at the base. The episode was among the most gripping that we have ever seen, and featured stunning admissions from a law enforcement officer and impromptu scenes of Fair Game harassment. We have not been given a reason for why A&E shelved the episode.

(You may remember, however, that the filming of the episode had some repercussions that we reported.)

As for the Masterson episode, A&E can say what it wants to the Daily Beast, but the truth is the production was working rapidly to prepare a newly edited version of the episode in time for the February 18 date, and a rough cut was available for review by key members of the production last week. The episode was ready to air. But now it’s in limbo.

There may be very good legal reasons for that since Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey continues to drag her feet and after more than two years of investigation still hasn’t made a decision on filing charges, but it does a disservice to the accusers to say that they were not told by A&E that the episode was coming on February 18.

More at https://tonyortega.org/2019/02/12/s...ved-two-episodes-delayed-one-in-season-three/

Scientology policy is to investigate rape victims seeking help, 1963 document reveals

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, April 9, 2019

Quote:

An ongoing rape investigation involving an accused Scientologist perpetrator and his (then) Scientologist victims just received a shot in the arm, we’re told, and it has to do with this website and something we published over the weekend.

As part of our “Scientology Lit” series, on Saturday we pulled out a couple of our favorite chapters from Paulette Cooper’s 1971 book The Scandal of Scientology, making sure to include the chapter that mentions Charles Manson, which especially irks the church.

But that chapter also includes a quote by L. Ron Hubbard that stunned one of our readers. Where, that reader asked us, did Paulette get that outrageous quote by L. Ron Hubbard?

Teen-age girl shows up in H[ubbard] G[uidance] C[enter] who has been beaten and raped by teen-age boys at High School and withholding it since. Audit it out, get parents to OK investigation. Call in press. Release story of vice and crime at local high school with the Org doing the investigation. On subsequent days, criticize laxity of police. Criticize principal. Finally, take more teen-age sex cases. Just day by day deal off a new action to the press. String the story out. Take an action. Hold a press conference. Put students on meters. Put teachers on meters. Get parents to sue. Finally, advise school hire a permanent mental consultant and give daily mental exercises to “teen-age monsters.” Then wrap it up and skip it. You’ve made something evil become something good attained — Scientology in schools.

It is a stunning set of instructions on how to use rape as a political device, and we admitted that we weren’t sure where Paulette had found it. But a quick check through our collection, and we soon located it. The passage was from the Green Volumes, collections of Hubbard’s policies on management and administration, and it can be found in a couple of different places.

It’s a “Hubbard Communication Office Policy Letter” that’s dated August 14 “AD13,” which is Scientology’s way of saying 1963.

We’re going to share the entire policy with you and we’re looking forward to your reactions to it.

But here’s why we’re especially surprised by that reader asking us to check that quote: We’ll just say that they are connected to the investigation of Danny Masterson, and this policy is now being copied for the police and prosecutors working the case.

We’re told it could be a very significant find.

“What Hubbard says there? Investigating the rape victim to use that information politically? That’s exactly what happened to Victim B,” our source told us. On March 3, 2017, we broke the news that the LAPD was investigating Masterson based on the allegations of three former Scientologists. A fourth victim, who was never a Scientologist, joined the case later. We wrote at length about the ordeal of Victim B, who was made to go through about $15,000 in auditing by the church after she came forward, put through auditing to see what she had done in past lives that would make her a victim in her current life. Since then, we’ve reported on Masterson’s accusers experiencing harassment that they believe can be sourced to the church.

And here, in black and white, is Hubbard’s “scripture” telling the church to investigate rape victims.

“I’m so pleased that after 48 years ‘The Scandal of Scientology’ is still helping people who have left Scientology. I get so many e-mails from people telling me that, and now I read it also on Tony’s blog. And best of all, it might help put a rapist in prison,” Paulette says.

So here’s Hubbard’s entire 1963 policy, which is about how to subvert newspapers and newspaper reporters. We look forward to your thoughts on it.

Continued at https://tonyortega.org/2019/04/09/s...e-victims-seeking-help-1963-document-reveals/

VIDEO: Danny Masterson accusers face down Scientology ploy at Denim Day rally

By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, April 25, 2019

Quote:

Yesterday, we told you we were anticipating that Mike Rinder’s estranged daughter Taryn Teutsch might repeat her ploy from last year and attempt to co-opt the message of the Denim Day rally in Los Angeles for Scientology’s disingenuous smear campaign against her father.

It turned out we were right about that, and Teutsch did get herself into the crowd behind Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti during the rally for photographs.

As we explained yesterday, Taryn’s ploy at the Denim Day rally is a sham. In a 2010 incident in Florida, Rinder was ambushed by his ex-wife Cathy Bernardini, Taryn, and several others, and in the confusing scrum that ensued Bernardini’s arm was scraped in what police determined was “incidental contact.” But Scientology has produced an endless stream of videos, tweets, and websites featuring Bernardini and Teutsch claiming that Rinder is an “abuser.” It’s quite obvious that the campaign is really about Scientology’s unhappiness with Rinder’s work as Leah Remini’s costar on the A&E series Scientology and the Aftermath, which recently finished its third season.

Denim Day is designed to show support for survivors of sexual assault, but Scientology sees it as an opportunity to pretend that Teutsch is a victim with a message — that A&E should fire Mike Rinder over the 2010 Florida incident. Last year, she showed up with large banners and signs and made sure to get a handshake with Mayor Garcetti.

This year, she had been told to leave the signs and banners at home by organizers, who had been educated about her real motives. But they didn’t stop her from getting into the photos behind the mayor when there was a call for survivors of rape to come up.

But then, Taryn faced a fascinating showdown with two of Scientologist actor Danny Masterson’s accusers who went there to mark two years since their case was delivered from the LAPD to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office, which has still not made an announcement on charges.

Chrissie Carnell and her husband, rocker Cedric Bixler Zavala, went to the rally with another of the four women who came forward more than two years ago to allege that they had been violently raped by Masterson.

Carnell tells us that she wanted to talk with Teutsch and her mother Cathy Bernardini, because she didn’t understand why they were attending a rally designed to show support for survivors of sexual assault.

She had her phone filming as Taryn responded to that question and others. The quality of the picture is not good, but the audio is pretty clear. We’ve posted the full seven minute video for you to look at, beginning with Taryn being asked, “So are you here to support us, or are you here to intimidate us?”

Continued at https://tonyortega.org/2019/04/25/d...ace-down-scientology-ploy-at-denim-day-rally/

RAPE ACCUSERS SUE DANNY MASTERSON, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY, AND ITS LEADER | The Underground Bunker

Quote:

The second big lawsuit from a powerful legal team assembled to take on the Church of Scientology has been filed, following up on the “Jane Doe” lawsuit in June that named the church and its leader David Miscavige defendants.

This time, the church and Miscavige are joined by Scientologist actor Danny Masterson, who are all being sued by four women who have accused the That ’70s Show actor of violently raping them, and whose allegations have been the subject of a Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles District Attorney investigation for more than two years.

LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey has still not announced whether she’s going to charge Masterson criminally, but that isn’t stopping his accusers from filing a civil lawsuit against him and the church in the meantime.

Continued at https://tonyortega.org/2019/08/14/r...sterson-church-of-scientology-and-its-leader/

Here’s the lawsuit against Scientology and Danny Masterson. Let’s dive into it. | The Underground Bunker

https://tonyortega.org/2019/08/16/h...tology-and-danny-masterson-lets-dive-into-it/

Leah Remini's 'Scientology and the Aftermath' to End with Explosive Special | Hollywood Reporter

Quote:

The actress and activist discusses the Danny Masterson accusations and her efforts moving forward: "When Scientology’s tax exempt status is revoked and people are in prison, that’s when I’ll start healing."

Continued at https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/n...aftermath-ending-special-sexual-abuse-1231767

Superb.

Scientology stalked, threatened women who accused actor Danny Masterson of assault, according to lawsuit

By Tracey McManus, Tampa Bay Times

https://www.tampabay.com/scientolog...ow-actor-danny-masterson-of-assault-20190816/

Everything We Know About the Danny Masterson Scientology Lawsuit

By Natalie Hope McDonald, Vulture

https://www.vulture.com/2019/08/danny-masterson-scientology-lawsuit.html

Finally.

They mention investigating 5, but hasn't the number of accusers risen to 8 by now?

Could be more.

6.41 million subscribers

serial rapist ?

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/17/arts/television/danny-masterson-rape-charged.html

excerpt from the above article:

Tony Ortega, a former editor of The Village Voice, reported in 2017 that at least three of the women claimed they were pressured to keep quiet by the Church of Scientology, to which they and Masterson belonged. The Church of Scientology denied that it had pressured victims.

The charges of pressure by the church were repeated in a lawsuit filed last year against Masterson and the church by four women who have accused Masterson of rape. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Robert Thompson, said the criminal charges against Masterson are closely related to the accusations made in the lawsuit by the women who said that after they accused Masterson of sexual assault, people associated with the church had stalked, threatened and surveilled them as they spoke out about their allegations. Three of the women had been personally involved with the church.

Thompson released a statement on behalf of the women that said that they were “thankful that the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office is finally seeking criminal justice against Masterson after a three-year investigation.”

In the lawsuit, one woman said Masterson sexually assaulted her throughout their relationship. After she went to the police, she said people associated with the church loitered outside her home, looked through her windows and filmed her home and family, according to the lawsuit.

In court papers responding to the accusations by the women, a lawyer for Masterson called the lawsuit a “money grab” and a “publicity stunt orchestrated by Masterson’s ex-girlfriends.” A lawyer for the church described one of the women’s claims in court papers as “false and malicious" and said her experiences with her trash disappearing and people loitering near her house were simply the “price of modern, urban life.”

https://tonyortega.org/2020/06/17/danny-masterson-scientology-arrest/

gonna be funny .... popcorn required

Much lulz to be had/milked.

I know kid touchers are shall we say, looked down upon when they get to prison. But I have also heard that regular, ordinary, everyday, household rapists are nearly as fuuuuuucked when they are incarcerated. I hope that's true.

Neither is true. They are "feel good" myths.

the pedo's part is true, they are made a "butt bitch"

The domain epic fails.

They patched the exploit rather quickly.

And.. Fail, already patched by the feds. they epic failed.

Were they 6-9 years old? XD
Kid haxors suck!

As for the Twitter, better luck next time for the spammer. XD (so much for trying to shame another user or trying/failing to cover their tracks). Aaaaaaugh.

They've been shamed.

Estebanmek

Short Fat Member, Male
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