'I learned from her': A look at Tina Turner in 'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome' as director George Miller remembers late singer
'Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome's creators wrote the character of Aunty Entity with Tina Turner in mind
2023-05-26 14:23
Three talking points from the Premier League weekend
Manchester United's hopes of a first Premier League title for a decade have been dented just a week into the new campaign by an...
2023-08-21 03:18
‘That ‘70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson faces 30 years to life at sentencing for rapes
“That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson could get as much as 30 years to life in prison at his sentencing Thursday for the rapes of two women two decades ago. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo is set to sentence the 47-year-old actor after ruling on a defense motion for a new trial that she’s very likely to reject, and after hearing impact statements from the victims. A jury of seven women and five men found Masterson guilty of two counts on May 31 after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Masterson’s Hollywood-area home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox network sitcom “That ’70s Show.” The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend. The verdict came in a second trial after a jury failed to reach verdicts on three counts of forcible rape in December and a mistrial was declared. Prosecutors alleged that Masterson used his prominence in the Church of Scientology — where all three women were also members at the time — to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks. The women blamed the church for their hesitancy in going to police about Masterson. They testified that when they reported him to Scientology officials, they were told they were not raped, were put through ethics programs themselves, and were warned against going to law enforcement to report a member of such high standing. “They were raped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against,” Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told jurors at the trial. “Scientology told them there’s no justice for them.” The church said in a statement after the verdict that the “testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs” during the trial were “uniformly false.” “The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone — Scientologists or not — to law enforcement,” the statement said. Masterson did not testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses. The defense argued that the acts were consensual, and attempted to discredit the women’s stories by highlighting changes and inconsistencies over time, which they said showed signs of coordination between them. The women whose testimony led to Masterson’s conviction said that in 2003, he gave them drinks and that they then became woozy or passed out before he violently raped them. Olmedo allowed prosecutors and accusers to say directly in the second trial that Masterson drugged the women, while only allowing the women to describe their condition in the first. Masterson was not charged with any counts of drugging, and there was no toxicology evidence to back up the assertion. The issue could be a factor in a planned appeal from the defense of Masterson’s conviction. The Associated Press does not typically name people who say they’ve been sexually abused. Masterson starred with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Topher Grace in “That ’70s Show” from 1998 until 2006. He had reunited with Kutcher on the 2016 Netflix comedy “The Ranch,” but was written off the show when an LAPD investigation was revealed the following year. While that investigation began before a wave of women shook Hollywood with stories about Harvey Weinstein in October 2017, the conviction and sentencing of Masterson still represents a major #MeToo era success for Los Angeles prosecutors, along with the conviction of Weinstein himself last year.
2023-09-07 19:50
PacWest Bancorp to sell real estate loans to Kennedy-Wilson subsidiary
Regional lender PacWest Bancorp said on Monday it entered into an agreement to sell a portfolio of 74
2023-05-22 18:26
10 Wonderfully Weird Muppet Duets
The Muppets have squared off against everyone from Johnny Cash to Celine Dion.
2023-09-26 04:28
Angels' Anthony Rendon says his injury is a fracture, not a bone bruise
Los Angeles Angels third baseman Anthony Rendon says his leg injury is a fractured tibia, not a deep bone bruise
2023-09-16 11:50
Britney Spears 'relieved' to stop paying child support to Kevin Federline for eldest son Sean after he turns 18
'Britney (Spears) is happy to help Sean and Jayden. There is nothing she wouldn’t do for her sons,' a source revealed
2023-09-05 06:49
Novak Djokovic: undisputed king of tennis
Novak Djokovic, who won his fourth US Open and all-time record-equalling 24th Grand Slam title on Sunday, is driven on through controversy by his determination...
2023-09-11 07:46
Is Lauren Miller Rogen OK? Seth Rogen's wife reveals 'terrifying information' that saw her opt for surgery
Lauren Miller Rogen, wife of actor Seth Rogen, revealed she had surgery to treat a brain aneurysm
2023-10-14 23:15
Ukraine war: Crimea depot blasts force villagers to flee
More than 2,000 people are evacuated in an incident that closes a key highway in occupied Crimea.
2023-07-19 16:29
Logan Paul declines MMA match against Dillon Danis, Internet says 'not trying to see this again'
Dillon Danis discredits Logan Paul's boxing skills and challenges him to an MMA rematch
2023-10-18 15:19
Trump is 'not above the law,' prosecutors say in urging judge to let federal election case proceed
Federal prosecutors say Donald Trump is “not above the law” as they are urging a judge to reject the former president’s efforts to dismiss the case charging him with plotting to overturn the 2020 presidential election
2023-10-20 07:45
You Might Like...
New angle shows what happened to Cardi B fan after being hit by rapper's microphone
Taiwan sends up fighters as Chinese warplanes cross strait's median line
'Quordle' today: Here are the answers and hints for July 16
At 100, Kissinger basks in US praise with no accountability
Tristan Tate ridicules governments' heatwave naming skills, offers to 'do it for free': Fans dub it 'climate scam'
Prehistoric footwear dating back 6,200 years discovered in a Spanish cave
Miguel Cabrera hits 509th homer, tying Gary Sheffield for 26th all-time
Kourtney Kardashian used a classic Blink-182 reference to announce her pregnancy