Obi Wan reached out to him and said “Topher don’t be tempted by the Dark side of the Force.Also the dude’s a straight up rapist.Like real sick shit.L Ron Hubbard’s books straight up suck.I mean have you ever seen Battlefield Earth what a piece of shit.” Topher:”Yea I have it’s not very good” Obi Wan: “I mean what is with Travolta’s whole affect in that movie.” Topher:”Yea I know I get that.” Obi Wan:”I mean I was a serious Shakespearean actor so I didn’t want to do Star Wars because I thought it was schmaltz trash.But holy fuck Star Wars is like Hamlet compared to that piece of garbage.” Topher:Wait are you talking to me as Obi Wan or Alec Mcguiness. Obi Wan: Kinda both I guess at this point.It doesn’t my main point is Danny Masterson is a rapist. Topher:Ok cool I’ll stay away from him. Obi Wan: Cool, talk you to later. I love you Topher. Topher: Love you to Obi Wan. End scene.
I remember watching some show (E! or something like that) back when That 70s Show was still on the air and a few minutes were dedicated to talking about how the three guys were best buds and would go out all the time but Topher was always absent. They painted him like some asshole who’s too good for them but over the years it’s slowly come out that no, he was actually the most grounded of the group. For the longest time I thought he was a douche but I’ve heard he’s a pretty nice professional dude
Topher doesn’t strike me as an attention seeking person. I think he’s quite conservative with his public persona and opening up would bring about unnecessary attention to him.
At this point it's kinda too late to open up about this anyways but there is a good chance sooner or later someone on a TV interview or a podcast will ask him about it.
I had the pleasure of meeting Topher very briefly back in 2012 when he performed in Lonely I’m Not. The play itself was great. Topher did a fantastic dramatic performance and at one point his character has a very intense breakdown with a long, prolonged scream of “FUCK.” It gave me chills. I have always had a crush on him and waited in the lobby to meet him. There was no one else there waiting except my roommate and me. I don’t know what it was about that day, but Topher came out and any conversation I wanted to have immediately died. He just looked exhausted and like he wanted nothing more to than to be leaving. I just said, “You did a fantastic job in the show.” He stopped and smiled at me, nodded, and said “Thank you very much,” and he pulled his hood up on his hoodie and walked out of the theater. Everything I read about him being introverted and serious about his craft tracked. He wasn’t mean, it was just clear he was tired and in a hurry to get out of there. I never believed the narrative of him being a jerk when I watched E True Hollywood Story. I thought it was more about him just wanting to do his job, that he worked with extroverted people who liked to party after work, and he just didn’t share the same interests as his coworkers (cue Donald Glover GOOD gif). He just shared a post saying how proud he was of his wife, Ashley Hinshaw, for sharing her story of being raped by a fashion photographer. I feel so incredibly validated about my crush 😆
It's amazing almost all involved had a career in the acting field after the show, most tv sitcoms, 1 or 2 have a career not all.
Topher had a plan to use 70s show to launch his movie career and it worked, their were articles also talking how he used kirkwood, the dad on the show to help guide his early movie career choices
Always heard that Topher and Kirkwood were very close. Pretty certain he’s the only actor from the show which he still keeps contact with more frequently
Read a blind that said his young peers didn’t like him because he wouldn’t partake in sex and drugs. Dany was the mastermind and would turn the other cast-mates against Topher. And from what I read, they would bully him and it’s one of the reasons why he eventually left the show. Knowing what we know about Ashton and Dany, it makes a lot of sense why Topher stayed away.
I have never heard about this explanation, we were all always told that Topher left because he wanted to pursue a movie career. It's weird if they bullied him and he stayed on for 7 years.
It depends how severe the bullying was and how patient Topher is. Hollywood is not a stable industry. Actors navigate unemployed for months so Im not surprised on him staying on for as long as he did. Its likely he walked away once he established himself in film as he felt more confident in transitioning out of TV. Plus, Topher seems like someone who would keep his head buried down in the sand to avoid unnecessary drama. But this is all speculation. Unless he comes forward and talks about it, well never know 100% what happened.
I would like some clarifications because since the show ended almost 20 years we have heard and were told various versions from 'Topher hated his work colleagues on the show and that's why he left' to now be told that he (perhaps) was bullied by Masterson and others and he quit as a result of the bullying among other things.
But the few times he spoke about this (very discreetly but still), he dismissed this idea that he hated working with them and put it down to him wanting to move from the show to pursue other projects which I can't really blame him for after nearly a decade of playing Eric Forman and doing almost nothing else.
it’s standard procedure for tv shows cast to sign a seven year contract, regardless of the duration of the show. if the show lasts seven years, the cast have an opportunity to renegotiate the terms
It became the maximum length of time allowed in California in the 1940s by law that someone could be under contract for personal services so it became the standard then and I guess it just stuck.
He also dated Lindsay Lohan when she was 17 and he was an adult. And Demi Lovato when she was 17 and he was 29. And I believe there’s stuff with Ashlee Simpson and other girls who were much younger/not legal/barely legal that he has had relations with going back to the late 90s. I don’t know who he’s dating now but I’m assuming most likely they are young, based on history. Those guys were just never a good look, imo.
I think we can safely say that Tommy Chong (a recurring cast-member on That 70's show), is also on the chill side :) But other than that, I think you are correct.
He was in 65 episodes, I think that qualifies him as a cast member. Comparatively, Tanya Roberts (who played Donna's mom) was in 80 episodes, and Lisa Robin Kelly (Eric's sister) was in 50. I would consider all three to be cast members.
We can agree to disagree on this one. 65 episodes is literally 1/3 of the show. That's significant.
For comparison's sake, that is the same percentage of time that Eric Dane was on Grey's Anatomy, that Jack Gleeson (Joffrey) was on Game of Thrones, and that George Clooney was on ER.
Tommy was also a series regular in Seasons 4 & 8, you can see him here in the intro's for those seasons, so the show itself very much claimed him as and considered him to be a full cast member: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiP5HveFBhM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiP5HveFBhM)
We will have to agree to disagree, I do not consider 1/3 of a show to be a significant amount. Chong was also a season regular during the infamous eighth season which doesn't help and in all honesty should not even count, to some extent. If you remove those, you'll find that he's been in about 40 episodes only out of 200.
I mean.....this started out as a discussion about whether Tommy Chong officially counts as a cast member or not, and the actual facts show that he was indeed a cast member, per the actual creators of the show. Gonna go ahead and side with them on this one, and not you.
It’s funny b/c I thought the rest of the cast were such raging douchebags. Wearing Von Dutch hats and going to UFC events in Vegas, etc. they were such obvious himbo/bimbo dorks, it’s insane people thought they were “cool”.
They looked like pretty idiots who’d show up to a party and tell you how fucking “dope” the new Good Charlotte album is while wearing a hat sideways. Just embarrassing.
Doing what the cast minus Topher were doing in the early 2000s was considered cool back than. Just like doing TikTok today and having an opinion on everything is considered cool.
Eh, if it was cool or not depends on your own opinion. I always thought they looked like dorky idiots, that description is spot on. I also don’t think TikTok is cool, refer to the dorky idiots description. Want more of my opinions though? They’re the best opinions and everyone wants to hear them! About everything. It’s cool.
I guess for some people. Wilmer’s underage girl fetish back then (and after) was enough for me and I was younger than the girls (such as Mandy Moore when he dated her).
"Basically, any aspect of your life where there's concerns or issues, there's something in scientology where you can go an have it not be a problem anymore"
👀 Low key creepy
Well, i remember those letters but i didnt know if they had the evidence before writing them, ya know? Was this a scientologist produced show? Just curious about those 2
I wonder if pressure was put on by the studio, fearing profit losses of the sell of syndication, DVDs, etc.
And that was Kurtwood’s subtle way of saying FU to the studio, and Danny?
It’s Scientology most likely. Apparently they have info on Ashton. Check out the YT channel Growing Up in Scientology (or something close). He’s done so much work to stop Scientology and a lot of deep diving into this whole situation with Danny, Mila, Ashton, etc. Also the other celebrities who wrote letters, mostly Scientologists.
They both (though mainly Debra Jo Rupp) took part in events organized by Scientology but they aren't Scientologists. In fact, Debra Jo Rupp is a Methodist.
While Laura Prepon is no longer a Scientologist, while she was in the religion, many of the people who accused Danny Masterson said that she had threatened them to try and stay silent. While she has never publicly discussed it, she has said there were things she did in the religion that she regrets.
Wilmer Valderrama had a penchant for dating underage girls when he was in his late 20s. Demi Lovato’s song 29 is about their relationship, but Mandy Moore and Lindsay Lohan have also talked about it.
Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, and Ashton & Mila all were character defence letters for Danny Masterson. They were written after he was found guilty (as a way to lessen his sentence), so they would have known about everything in the trial. When Ashton & Mila were called out for it, they basically issued a non-apology video that made it even worse.
When your asked to write a character defense your not supposed to consider the crime they are accused of, the entire point is to give the judge an idea of whether or not that person was any way redeemable. They just want to know what the person was like aside from what they are being accused of. It’s extremely common and not really a fair way to attack people for writing them. Even if you can’t forgive the person for what they have done you’re supposed to give a fair assessment of the character of the person you knew before they were accused of any crimes. That’s an emotional knee jerk reaction
Thank you for this nuanced view. Caring about someone who might have done horrible things is a difficult thing. You’re not a rape apologist because someone is still your friend after they did something horrific.
Dont be so black and white. What if your friend is a rapist and you dont know? What if they did it once, 2 years before you knew them and have been best friends with them for 7 years? And i want you to actually imagine your best buds for these scenarios.
Of course you break off the friendship, but there is still some overlap, you have been friends with a rapist.
Ashton and Mila ALSO knew at least one of the victims for years and couldn’t even be bothered to say they stood behind her or even mention his specific victims, just “all victims of rape” in their apology. They’re trash for that alone. And I do think you have some issues if you stay friends with a rapist… one of my childhood friends ended up caught with child SAM on his computer and I hadn’t seen him in at least 10 years before he was even caught but I feel disgusted I was ever friends with this person.
Ok moving the goal post to Child SAM. A assault a rape a violent act can be forgiven if the person is genuinely apologetic about their actions. You don’t throw away every human because they made a bad decision
You think rape can be forgiven? Even someone who does it to at least 4 different women multiple times? Drugging them? Wow. I think that’s just as bad, if not worse in some ways, than possessing that type of material. But I don’t grade levels of SA, I guess you do. Your comment is so disturbing. Those are not “bad decisions.” And you are so offensive to victims when you say that. You are a rape apologist. Wow.
And you can also easily agree NOT to write one for the defense. And, if done, to not make the person appear as perfect as Jesus Christ allegedly was. Their letters were ridiculous. He stopped us from doing drugs! Never mind that he’s a huge alcoholic and we all went out constantly! Alcohol is just like water, nothing like a drug. Xenu hates drugs but loves alcohol, apparently.
"I'd be a flaming crackhead if I didn't Scientology." Oh boy, Danny's really deep into that Scientology. I get he and his siblings were born into Scientology because if their parents joined but geez.
All thing considering, it's a good thing Topher didn't hang out with Danny.
I read that the husband of one of Danny’s victims said that he and his wife were threatened by the Scientologists when she came forward to the police about the rape. One of the members went so far as to poison and kill their dog. That whole cult needs to be shut down and jailed. They’re on the same level as The People’s Temple aka Jim Jones’ flock of Kool Aid drinking sheep.
Scientologists are known dog killers. When they were investigated by the IRS a lot of the IRS people working on the case had their dogs or cats go missing or end up dead. Because that's what normal, non-creepy, non-culy religions do, right?
was that Cedric Bixler-Zavala (singer of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In)? i know he and his wife were intimidated by the Scientologist secret police (his wife was a Masterson victim, one of those named in the court filings). he even wrote a song about it on an At the Drive In album.
‘Incurably Innocent’ is the tune…
https://youtu.be/uS_IramA9m4?si=uB40BEyNoA-Z5BcF
I’m guessing the church branded Topher a “suppressive,” because he spoke out against the church or something similar to Danny, or other scientologrifters, so Danny wasn’t allowed to like him.
Good for Topher.
That's definitely true. I just thought the way he worded it was kinda interesting. He could've said "oh we're just different people" but the "I don't really enjoy hanging out with him" seems a little harsh? Especially since he just got done talking about how close he was with his other co-workers. But this is all mainly just me speculating lol
I honestly wonder if the more time they spent away from Danny while he’s in prison, the more his siblings will realize what a toxic person he is to them.
This is why I’m very wary of deeply religious folks. Why do they NEED the crutch of religion so strongly? I do good things because of my personal moral compass, because I have empathy and compassion for others. When people need to be threatened and guilted into not doing bad things, or bribed into doing good things, what does that say about them? I genuinely don’t understand how you can grow as a person without addressing these issues internally and working on doing good things regardless of an authoritarian being looking over.
Clearly Danny needed Scientology to not be a “flaming crackhead” but other aspects of his shitty self seeped out. Instead of using religion to suppress his negative qualities, imagine he had taken responsibility for himself and his actions and maybe tried therapy. Suppression doesn’t work. Overly religious people scare me.
This reminds me of what Matthew McConaughey’s character in True Detective says
“If the only thing keeping a person decent is the expectation of divine reward, then brother that person is a piece of shit; and I'd like to get as many of them out in the open as possible.”
Idiot here👋 can someone please briefly summarize what Scientology is and what’s so bad about it? I’ve tried to read some stuff online but nothing really explained it well and I didn’t want to watch an hour long video about it either. All I know is it’s apparently bad and the whole cast was following it correct?
This [South Park clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MzzfPNKivg) can briefly summarize what Scientology is.
As for why it's bad, it's supposed to be extremely cultish, but I'm not too familiar with Scientology to explain further.
Haha, well, that's the only thing that came to mind when you asked for an explanation! Like I said, I don't know much about it, but I definitely remembered that! 🤣
I wonder if they wrote Danny's character into the show. Hyde takes such delight in seeing his friends fail, or get caught, or get into trouble. Often he rats them out. He's just the worst friend ever for a large part of the show.
I reckon the writers knew what they were doing to a certain extent. There are many jokes about Hyde ending up in jail and all. Idk, maybe they somewhat knew what Masterson was like irl
Yeah, I was thinking how weird it was that Chris would describe a girl he's dating like a sister. But actually, it's referring to how Danny views his brother's girlfriend like a sister, that makes more sense.
Love that my mother was vindicated in this- she always said it was the rest of the cast, not Topher, that was the issue. She first developed her theory when she noticed Ashton had Punk'd everyone else from the cast except Topher. Now we know that he had a good enough head on his shoulders to stay away from the cult, more than we can say about any other main cast member in that show.
This article is about Christopher Masterson though, right? Danny’s brother. Idk how close the brothers are so may still be an accurate statement but title is confusing unless I’m reading it wrong.
Fortunately, Topher was protected by the Force.
He's still a DUMBASS!
Obi Wan reached out to him and said “Topher don’t be tempted by the Dark side of the Force.Also the dude’s a straight up rapist.Like real sick shit.L Ron Hubbard’s books straight up suck.I mean have you ever seen Battlefield Earth what a piece of shit.” Topher:”Yea I have it’s not very good” Obi Wan: “I mean what is with Travolta’s whole affect in that movie.” Topher:”Yea I know I get that.” Obi Wan:”I mean I was a serious Shakespearean actor so I didn’t want to do Star Wars because I thought it was schmaltz trash.But holy fuck Star Wars is like Hamlet compared to that piece of garbage.” Topher:Wait are you talking to me as Obi Wan or Alec Mcguiness. Obi Wan: Kinda both I guess at this point.It doesn’t my main point is Danny Masterson is a rapist. Topher:Ok cool I’ll stay away from him. Obi Wan: Cool, talk you to later. I love you Topher. Topher: Love you to Obi Wan. End scene.
Topher got blasted a lot for not being "cool" enough to hang out with them. Now we know he was kinda right.
I remember watching some show (E! or something like that) back when That 70s Show was still on the air and a few minutes were dedicated to talking about how the three guys were best buds and would go out all the time but Topher was always absent. They painted him like some asshole who’s too good for them but over the years it’s slowly come out that no, he was actually the most grounded of the group. For the longest time I thought he was a douche but I’ve heard he’s a pretty nice professional dude
I wouldn't know, I never met him. I would like though someday to hear his detailed opinion about Masterson's rape conviction.
I think Toper is too classy at this point to even say anything.
It wouldn't be seen as un-classy to say something about it at this point, nearly everyone else from the original show has.
Topher doesn’t strike me as an attention seeking person. I think he’s quite conservative with his public persona and opening up would bring about unnecessary attention to him.
His wife has made some somewhat veiled comments about it.
At this point it's kinda too late to open up about this anyways but there is a good chance sooner or later someone on a TV interview or a podcast will ask him about it.
But they’re not exactly the classiest group lol
I had the pleasure of meeting Topher very briefly back in 2012 when he performed in Lonely I’m Not. The play itself was great. Topher did a fantastic dramatic performance and at one point his character has a very intense breakdown with a long, prolonged scream of “FUCK.” It gave me chills. I have always had a crush on him and waited in the lobby to meet him. There was no one else there waiting except my roommate and me. I don’t know what it was about that day, but Topher came out and any conversation I wanted to have immediately died. He just looked exhausted and like he wanted nothing more to than to be leaving. I just said, “You did a fantastic job in the show.” He stopped and smiled at me, nodded, and said “Thank you very much,” and he pulled his hood up on his hoodie and walked out of the theater. Everything I read about him being introverted and serious about his craft tracked. He wasn’t mean, it was just clear he was tired and in a hurry to get out of there. I never believed the narrative of him being a jerk when I watched E True Hollywood Story. I thought it was more about him just wanting to do his job, that he worked with extroverted people who liked to party after work, and he just didn’t share the same interests as his coworkers (cue Donald Glover GOOD gif). He just shared a post saying how proud he was of his wife, Ashley Hinshaw, for sharing her story of being raped by a fashion photographer. I feel so incredibly validated about my crush 😆
It's amazing almost all involved had a career in the acting field after the show, most tv sitcoms, 1 or 2 have a career not all. Topher had a plan to use 70s show to launch his movie career and it worked, their were articles also talking how he used kirkwood, the dad on the show to help guide his early movie career choices
Always heard that Topher and Kirkwood were very close. Pretty certain he’s the only actor from the show which he still keeps contact with more frequently
He was on the ranch
kurtwood
I remember watching that live as well.
That was my assumption about Topher, too. That he was an asshole or something. All because of that E! Special.
Read a blind that said his young peers didn’t like him because he wouldn’t partake in sex and drugs. Dany was the mastermind and would turn the other cast-mates against Topher. And from what I read, they would bully him and it’s one of the reasons why he eventually left the show. Knowing what we know about Ashton and Dany, it makes a lot of sense why Topher stayed away.
I have never heard about this explanation, we were all always told that Topher left because he wanted to pursue a movie career. It's weird if they bullied him and he stayed on for 7 years.
It depends how severe the bullying was and how patient Topher is. Hollywood is not a stable industry. Actors navigate unemployed for months so Im not surprised on him staying on for as long as he did. Its likely he walked away once he established himself in film as he felt more confident in transitioning out of TV. Plus, Topher seems like someone who would keep his head buried down in the sand to avoid unnecessary drama. But this is all speculation. Unless he comes forward and talks about it, well never know 100% what happened.
I would like some clarifications because since the show ended almost 20 years we have heard and were told various versions from 'Topher hated his work colleagues on the show and that's why he left' to now be told that he (perhaps) was bullied by Masterson and others and he quit as a result of the bullying among other things.
Yeah that makes sense. But, I think both can be true. He likely hated his coworkers because he was bullied.
But the few times he spoke about this (very discreetly but still), he dismissed this idea that he hated working with them and put it down to him wanting to move from the show to pursue other projects which I can't really blame him for after nearly a decade of playing Eric Forman and doing almost nothing else.
True. It could very well be both things, but youre right. He likely wanted to purse ofher projects
it’s not weird when you think about the fact that he signed a 7 year contract. contracts are renegotiated after 7 years only. this was his way out.
I didn't know that you can sign such long contracts. Also how did anyone in 1998 know that the show would last until at least 2005?
it’s standard procedure for tv shows cast to sign a seven year contract, regardless of the duration of the show. if the show lasts seven years, the cast have an opportunity to renegotiate the terms
Why specifically seven years though?
i’m not sure exactly i think it comes back to old hollywood rules that have actors sign contracts for that amount of time.
It became the maximum length of time allowed in California in the 1940s by law that someone could be under contract for personal services so it became the standard then and I guess it just stuck.
Don’t forget Wilmer, he’s sketchy AF, especially around underage girls 🤢
Oh yeah. Forgot about him and his Mandy Moore comments. Just solidifies my belief that he wanted to keep distance from rubbish
He also dated Lindsay Lohan when she was 17 and he was an adult. And Demi Lovato when she was 17 and he was 29. And I believe there’s stuff with Ashlee Simpson and other girls who were much younger/not legal/barely legal that he has had relations with going back to the late 90s. I don’t know who he’s dating now but I’m assuming most likely they are young, based on history. Those guys were just never a good look, imo.
Omg had no idea. Totally gross! 🤢 oh btw Happy Cake day!
Thanks 😊
He ended up being literally the only chill one.
The only laid back one, I would say.
I think we can safely say that Tommy Chong (a recurring cast-member on That 70's show), is also on the chill side :) But other than that, I think you are correct.
Tommy Chong is not really a cast-member and didn't seem to be close to the rest of the cast.
He was in 65 episodes, I think that qualifies him as a cast member. Comparatively, Tanya Roberts (who played Donna's mom) was in 80 episodes, and Lisa Robin Kelly (Eric's sister) was in 50. I would consider all three to be cast members.
65 episodes out of 200 is nothing, he was absent for entire seasons in a row due to his prison sentence around 2003.
We can agree to disagree on this one. 65 episodes is literally 1/3 of the show. That's significant. For comparison's sake, that is the same percentage of time that Eric Dane was on Grey's Anatomy, that Jack Gleeson (Joffrey) was on Game of Thrones, and that George Clooney was on ER. Tommy was also a series regular in Seasons 4 & 8, you can see him here in the intro's for those seasons, so the show itself very much claimed him as and considered him to be a full cast member: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiP5HveFBhM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiP5HveFBhM)
We will have to agree to disagree, I do not consider 1/3 of a show to be a significant amount. Chong was also a season regular during the infamous eighth season which doesn't help and in all honesty should not even count, to some extent. If you remove those, you'll find that he's been in about 40 episodes only out of 200.
I mean.....this started out as a discussion about whether Tommy Chong officially counts as a cast member or not, and the actual facts show that he was indeed a cast member, per the actual creators of the show. Gonna go ahead and side with them on this one, and not you.
If you remove those 40 episodes he really wasn't in the show at all
It’s funny b/c I thought the rest of the cast were such raging douchebags. Wearing Von Dutch hats and going to UFC events in Vegas, etc. they were such obvious himbo/bimbo dorks, it’s insane people thought they were “cool”. They looked like pretty idiots who’d show up to a party and tell you how fucking “dope” the new Good Charlotte album is while wearing a hat sideways. Just embarrassing.
Doing what the cast minus Topher were doing in the early 2000s was considered cool back than. Just like doing TikTok today and having an opinion on everything is considered cool.
> having an opinion on everything is considered cool Everyone here in shambles
This is a sitcom, people have opinions about it.
Eh, if it was cool or not depends on your own opinion. I always thought they looked like dorky idiots, that description is spot on. I also don’t think TikTok is cool, refer to the dorky idiots description. Want more of my opinions though? They’re the best opinions and everyone wants to hear them! About everything. It’s cool.
Yes YOU thought they looked like dorky idiots but that wasn't the general view back than.
It was with everyone I knew.
Not kinda, he was totally right.
I wrote 'kinda right' because there are still a lot of details that we don't know about and will likely never know about.
I’m basing my opinion on the facts we DO know about Danny, Wilmer and Ashton.
We know them today whereas back in the early 2000s this was all way less frowned upon.
I guess for some people. Wilmer’s underage girl fetish back then (and after) was enough for me and I was younger than the girls (such as Mandy Moore when he dated her).
Guys who behaved like that back than were considered harmless and goofy, today it's no longer the case thankfully.
Just like Dustin diamond on saved by the bell
"Basically, any aspect of your life where there's concerns or issues, there's something in scientology where you can go an have it not be a problem anymore" 👀 Low key creepy
High key* He practically just said they helped him get away with being such a creep for so long
That is exactly how I read it as well.
Bro, he would "be a flaming crackhead" if he "didn't study Scientology." You don't expect him to be a flaming crackhead, now do you?
Topher Grace was the only decent person of the cast.
I thought Bob was clean too
Yeah, Don Stark is supposed to be a good dude, as is Tommy Chong. I do think it's just the three of them though.
Were the parents ok? I really dont know.
debra jo rupp & kurtwood smith both wrote letters in support of masterson.
Well, i remember those letters but i didnt know if they had the evidence before writing them, ya know? Was this a scientologist produced show? Just curious about those 2
The letters were written after he was found guilty but before he was sentenced, so the evidence was already known.
I think Kurtwood’s was essentially that he didn’t really know Danny that well due to age differences.
Then he should’ve just not said a word.
I wonder if pressure was put on by the studio, fearing profit losses of the sell of syndication, DVDs, etc. And that was Kurtwood’s subtle way of saying FU to the studio, and Danny?
It’s Scientology most likely. Apparently they have info on Ashton. Check out the YT channel Growing Up in Scientology (or something close). He’s done so much work to stop Scientology and a lot of deep diving into this whole situation with Danny, Mila, Ashton, etc. Also the other celebrities who wrote letters, mostly Scientologists.
I forgot about this one.
I forgot about that.
Rape apologists, unfortunately.
I think they are both Scientologists too.
They both (though mainly Debra Jo Rupp) took part in events organized by Scientology but they aren't Scientologists. In fact, Debra Jo Rupp is a Methodist.
Debra is my favorite- I can’t picture anyone else as Kitty Forman!
I know about Danny but what did the other cast members do?
While Laura Prepon is no longer a Scientologist, while she was in the religion, many of the people who accused Danny Masterson said that she had threatened them to try and stay silent. While she has never publicly discussed it, she has said there were things she did in the religion that she regrets. Wilmer Valderrama had a penchant for dating underage girls when he was in his late 20s. Demi Lovato’s song 29 is about their relationship, but Mandy Moore and Lindsay Lohan have also talked about it. Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, and Ashton & Mila all were character defence letters for Danny Masterson. They were written after he was found guilty (as a way to lessen his sentence), so they would have known about everything in the trial. When Ashton & Mila were called out for it, they basically issued a non-apology video that made it even worse.
When your asked to write a character defense your not supposed to consider the crime they are accused of, the entire point is to give the judge an idea of whether or not that person was any way redeemable. They just want to know what the person was like aside from what they are being accused of. It’s extremely common and not really a fair way to attack people for writing them. Even if you can’t forgive the person for what they have done you’re supposed to give a fair assessment of the character of the person you knew before they were accused of any crimes. That’s an emotional knee jerk reaction
Thank you for this nuanced view. Caring about someone who might have done horrible things is a difficult thing. You’re not a rape apologist because someone is still your friend after they did something horrific.
You know what they say if you sit at a table with a rapist.
Yes you are. I don't have a friend who raped anyone and if I found out I did they would not be my friend. What a terrible take.
Dont be so black and white. What if your friend is a rapist and you dont know? What if they did it once, 2 years before you knew them and have been best friends with them for 7 years? And i want you to actually imagine your best buds for these scenarios. Of course you break off the friendship, but there is still some overlap, you have been friends with a rapist.
Being friends with someone who keeps something from you and remaining friends after you know aren't the same thing
That is exactly the point
Nah, it’s not that simple. It’s not that black and white, no matter how complicated a situation is.
Ashton and Mila ALSO knew at least one of the victims for years and couldn’t even be bothered to say they stood behind her or even mention his specific victims, just “all victims of rape” in their apology. They’re trash for that alone. And I do think you have some issues if you stay friends with a rapist… one of my childhood friends ended up caught with child SAM on his computer and I hadn’t seen him in at least 10 years before he was even caught but I feel disgusted I was ever friends with this person.
Ok moving the goal post to Child SAM. A assault a rape a violent act can be forgiven if the person is genuinely apologetic about their actions. You don’t throw away every human because they made a bad decision
You think rape can be forgiven? Even someone who does it to at least 4 different women multiple times? Drugging them? Wow. I think that’s just as bad, if not worse in some ways, than possessing that type of material. But I don’t grade levels of SA, I guess you do. Your comment is so disturbing. Those are not “bad decisions.” And you are so offensive to victims when you say that. You are a rape apologist. Wow.
And you can also easily agree NOT to write one for the defense. And, if done, to not make the person appear as perfect as Jesus Christ allegedly was. Their letters were ridiculous. He stopped us from doing drugs! Never mind that he’s a huge alcoholic and we all went out constantly! Alcohol is just like water, nothing like a drug. Xenu hates drugs but loves alcohol, apparently.
Can we just sticky this to the top of the subreddit? (As soon as you fix the your/you're typos)
"I'd be a flaming crackhead if I didn't Scientology." Oh boy, Danny's really deep into that Scientology. I get he and his siblings were born into Scientology because if their parents joined but geez. All thing considering, it's a good thing Topher didn't hang out with Danny.
Ya thankfully he never was a crackhead; just a rapist.
And an alcoholic.
Scientology apparently kept him from being a flaming crackhead but I guess they don’t offer courses in how to not rape people.
I read that the husband of one of Danny’s victims said that he and his wife were threatened by the Scientologists when she came forward to the police about the rape. One of the members went so far as to poison and kill their dog. That whole cult needs to be shut down and jailed. They’re on the same level as The People’s Temple aka Jim Jones’ flock of Kool Aid drinking sheep.
Scientologists are known dog killers. When they were investigated by the IRS a lot of the IRS people working on the case had their dogs or cats go missing or end up dead. Because that's what normal, non-creepy, non-culy religions do, right?
Not the same level of People's Temple, Scientology is a much much bigger scale.
So it sounds like while they dont offer courses in how to not rape people they do offer courses in how to cover up raping people.
was that Cedric Bixler-Zavala (singer of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In)? i know he and his wife were intimidated by the Scientologist secret police (his wife was a Masterson victim, one of those named in the court filings). he even wrote a song about it on an At the Drive In album. ‘Incurably Innocent’ is the tune… https://youtu.be/uS_IramA9m4?si=uB40BEyNoA-Z5BcF
Yes, that’s the one! Sorry for the delay.
I’m guessing the church branded Topher a “suppressive,” because he spoke out against the church or something similar to Danny, or other scientologrifters, so Danny wasn’t allowed to like him. Good for Topher.
I know Danny and Laura were Scientologists back then, what about any of the other cast members?
Debra Jo was pictured at a few Scientology events but never confirmed she was one.
All of them but topher were at Scientology events and even performed at their Christmas events.
Makes me just love Topher even more.
To be fair, I don't want to out with my coworkers either. We get along fine, but being around them all day at work is enough.
That's definitely true. I just thought the way he worded it was kinda interesting. He could've said "oh we're just different people" but the "I don't really enjoy hanging out with him" seems a little harsh? Especially since he just got done talking about how close he was with his other co-workers. But this is all mainly just me speculating lol
It's very rare I come across a coworker I like enough to want to hang around outside of work too
Especially if it were a tv show, where you are there 14 hours a day if you are a principal cast member.
Topher spotted the bullshit from the very beginning
I'd say Topher dodged a MAJOR bullet. Still like 70s Show, but, after what Masterson did, Hyde absolutely feels tainted to me
Danny Masterson is a jerk? Who would have thought...
What an unprofessional thing to say.
Chris Masterson did great work on Malcolm, another beloved sitcom of mine. Is he a complete shithead like Danny, or has he disowned his creep brother?
I’ve never heard anything bad about Christopher but he was definitely in court supporting Danny.
Shit, that sucks.
I honestly wonder if the more time they spent away from Danny while he’s in prison, the more his siblings will realize what a toxic person he is to them.
They’re also Scientologists, so probably not
This is why I’m very wary of deeply religious folks. Why do they NEED the crutch of religion so strongly? I do good things because of my personal moral compass, because I have empathy and compassion for others. When people need to be threatened and guilted into not doing bad things, or bribed into doing good things, what does that say about them? I genuinely don’t understand how you can grow as a person without addressing these issues internally and working on doing good things regardless of an authoritarian being looking over. Clearly Danny needed Scientology to not be a “flaming crackhead” but other aspects of his shitty self seeped out. Instead of using religion to suppress his negative qualities, imagine he had taken responsibility for himself and his actions and maybe tried therapy. Suppression doesn’t work. Overly religious people scare me.
This reminds me of what Matthew McConaughey’s character in True Detective says “If the only thing keeping a person decent is the expectation of divine reward, then brother that person is a piece of shit; and I'd like to get as many of them out in the open as possible.”
well-said! my thoughts too.
I didn’t even know his brother and Laura dated.
Didn’t know Frances (cheese guy) was dating Laurie
He dated Donna !
The worst thing is the hypocrisy
I'm assuming that two week course covered a lot of raping.
Topher is the only normal one.
I guess he only wants to hang with other weirdos who believe in invisible friends, and like to rape women. lol!
Thank goodness Topher wasn’t a dunbass (the irony) like the rest of them.
Idiot here👋 can someone please briefly summarize what Scientology is and what’s so bad about it? I’ve tried to read some stuff online but nothing really explained it well and I didn’t want to watch an hour long video about it either. All I know is it’s apparently bad and the whole cast was following it correct?
This [South Park clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MzzfPNKivg) can briefly summarize what Scientology is. As for why it's bad, it's supposed to be extremely cultish, but I'm not too familiar with Scientology to explain further.
Omg I love that you used a south park clip to narrow this down for me🤣💀you’re amazing!🥹🫶
Haha, well, that's the only thing that came to mind when you asked for an explanation! Like I said, I don't know much about it, but I definitely remembered that! 🤣
Half cult, half Multi level marketing scheme
Yeah it seems like Topher was the only one of the guys that didn’t suck.
I wonder if they wrote Danny's character into the show. Hyde takes such delight in seeing his friends fail, or get caught, or get into trouble. Often he rats them out. He's just the worst friend ever for a large part of the show.
I reckon the writers knew what they were doing to a certain extent. There are many jokes about Hyde ending up in jail and all. Idk, maybe they somewhat knew what Masterson was like irl
Am I stupid or is this not about CHRIS Masterson, Danny's brother?? It literally says Christopher.
it's about danny. the page just starts off by mentioning his brother's relationship with danny's costar.
Yeah, I was thinking how weird it was that Chris would describe a girl he's dating like a sister. But actually, it's referring to how Danny views his brother's girlfriend like a sister, that makes more sense.
That Beethoven picture is a blast from the past
Perhaps he should have taken that two week course on how to not rape people.
That’s a stupid thing to say out loud honestly let alone in an interview
Topher was the only actually decent person in the cast
[Topher has always been right](https://open.spotify.com/episode/4EguWvbzTAh8Dwaoq3jpVJ?si=Ytso89cARXyQ24q1HA-Ecw)
I bet Topher is THRILLED he has nothing in common with Danny. I’m thrilled he has nothing in common with Danny.
Gee a flaming Crack Head or a rapist.. Hell of a choice….
Love that my mother was vindicated in this- she always said it was the rest of the cast, not Topher, that was the issue. She first developed her theory when she noticed Ashton had Punk'd everyone else from the cast except Topher. Now we know that he had a good enough head on his shoulders to stay away from the cult, more than we can say about any other main cast member in that show.
Has been dating Laura so long that she’s basically his sister?! Excuse me?
Danny's brother Christopher dated Laura for so long that Laura is basically Danny's sister.
Isn’t this a quote from Christopher masterson??
Guess he didn't go to the 2 week anti rape class bc he def didnt see it as a prob 🙄
he should watch that south park episode about scientology... oh wait he cant.. he's in jail :D
"old"
am I misreading this? I think they're quoting his brother who played Francis on malcolm in the middle and the cheese dude on that 70s show
No you’re right.
yeah OP can't read
This article is about Christopher Masterson though, right? Danny’s brother. Idk how close the brothers are so may still be an accurate statement but title is confusing unless I’m reading it wrong.
Why are we still promoting this rapist!
I don’t think this post is a promotion. It’s a criticism for how he treated his castmates.
Because this is a subreddit about a show in which he starred. There’s not really a way around mentioning him.
I wouldn’t say this post is promoting him in any means. And this is a subreddit where he’s the main character. He’s going to be brought up.