Court upholds Danny Masterson's rape conviction

Danny Masterson is staying in prison. This afternoon, Deadline reports that his appeal bid has failed, with a judge ruling to uphold his 2023 conviction for two counts of rape. The trio of appellate judges also rejected arguments that Scientology was unfairly used against Masterson in the previous trial, writing in their decision that  “Admission of Scientology evidence did not violate the First Amendment and was not an abuse of the trial court’s discretion.” The 89-page ruling continues, “The jury in this case was not asked to determine the truth or falsity of Scientology doctrine or beliefs. Admission of Scientology evidence for those purposes did not contravene the First Amendment.” Masterson’s attorneys told Deadline after the ruling that they plan to bring the case to the California Supreme Court.