Actor Danny Masterson has been ousted from the Netflix show “The Ranch” amid multiple rape allegations, the streaming service announced in a statement sent to HuffPost on Tuesday. His last day of filming on the program took place on Monday.
Four women have accused Masterson of violently raping them in the early 2000s. Masterson has been under investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for just under a year.
“As a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written Danny Masterson out of ′The Ranch.′ Yesterday was his last day on the show, and production will resume in early 2018 without him,” a Netflix spokesman said.
The news comes a day after HuffPost reported that a Netflix executive told one of Masterson’s accusers on Sunday that higher-ups at the company don’t think the allegations are credible. The company says the executive was unaware at the time that the woman was one of the alleged victims.
Masterson’s “The Ranch” co-star Ashton Kutcher also co-starred with him on the hit sitcom “That 70’s Show.” Masterson will be featured in new episodes of “The Ranch” that premiere on Netflix on Dec. 15. Additionally, Masterson will appear in some episodes that have already been filmed for the next season that airs next year, a source familiar with the programming told HuffPost.
Masterson has denied all allegations of rape and said that the encounters in question were consensual.
“I am obviously very disappointed in Netflix’s decision to write my character off of ‘The Ranch.’ From day one, I have denied the outrageous allegations against me. I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one,” Masterson said in a statement provided to HuffPost by his attorney.
The statement continued: “In this country, you are presumed innocent until proven guilty. However, in the current 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.”
This is a developing story...
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