Danny Masterson has been written out of Netflix’s The Ranch amid rape claims
The producers of Netflix’s The Ranch appear to have finally addressed the rape allegations against Danny Masterson by writing him out of the show, Variety reports.
Four women say that Masterson, who co-stars and co-executive produces The Ranch with Ashton Kutcher, raped them. The LAPD’s investigation into their claims has been fitful from the start, and just last month, the police department indicated that things had stalled despite “compelling evidence.” This prompted Leah Remini, a former Scientologist turned vocal critic of the organization, to claim that the Church Of Scientology was protecting Masterson, who remains a member.
Yesterday, news broke of a Netflix executive’s callous treatment of one of Masterson’s accusers; apparently, when asked why the streaming platform had failed to act on the rape accusations against the actor, director of global kids content Andy Yeatman told the alleged victim that Netflix just didn’t believe them. The company called Yeatman’s statements “careless” and “uninformed,” and suggested he had no insight into The Ranch’s production. And now, the company has announced that Masterson is being written out of the show, and will not appear in any new episodes after 2017. From a spokesperson: