National Post (National Edition)

Masterson fired from The Ranch by Netflix

Actor denies sexual assault allegation­s

- SADAF AHSAN National Post

Danny Masterson has officially been fired from the Netflix comedy series The Ranch amid multiple allegation­s of sexual assault.

The streaming network confirmed the news in a statement on Twitter: “After discussing with the producers, we’ve decided to write Danny Masterson off of The Ranch. Yesterday was his last day of work, and we’ll make new episodes in 2018 without him.”

Netflix has been caught in its own flurry of online backlash for taking months to respond to the Masterson allegation­s, despite announcing Kevin Spacey’s firing days after the House of Cards actor was first accused of sexual misconduct in November. While it may be unusual for the network to have taken as long as it did to respond to the Masterson allegation­s, it’s not so strange that they released their statement about doing so on Tuesday.

On Monday, the Huffington Post reported that Netflix executive Andy Yeatman had spoken to one of Masterson’s accusers at their children’s soccer game over the weekend. Yeatman is the head coach for his child’s team, while the accuser’s husband is the head coach for the opposing team. After discoverin­g Yeatman worked at the network, the accuser claims to have approached him in order to ask why Netflix has not been taking the Masterson allegation­s seriously and taking action.

She claims he told her the network did not believe the allegation­s. She then informed him that she was one of the victims, after which the conversati­on concluded. She says he approached her an hour later to explain he hadn’t realized she was one of the victims and that he has no involvemen­t in Netflix’s choice of action. She then told him “Netflix is going to regret this,” to which he allegedly responded, in a “condescend­ing” tone, “We’ll see.”

Yeatman has since claimed he was not aware Danny Masterson speaks during a launch event for Netflix’s The Ranch: Part 3 this June in Nashville, Tenn. He’s been fired and written out of the series for episodes that are being filmed in 2018.. the woman was one of Masterson’s alleged victims and, more specifical­ly, that he did not say the words “we’ll see.”

After news of Yeatman’s comments were published by HuffPost, his wife, Lilly Yeatman, a Disney executive, emailed the victim’s husband (from her Disney email address), saying the victim “has really done a terrible thing to a great guy,” making him look like a “villain” despite being “terribly sad and heartbroke­n for any woman who has been hurt or mistreated.”

As for Masterson, the actor will appear in the new episodes set to première on Dec. 15, and in the few episodes already filmed for the following season set to air next year as he is written out of the comedy, co-starring Ashton Kutcher.

Masterson released his own statement in response, via People: “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. Law enforcemen­t investigat­ed these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit. I have never been charged with a crime, let alone convicted of one. 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. In the meantime, I want to express my gratitude to the cast and crew that I’ve worked so closely with over the past three seasons. I wish them nothing but success. I am also so thankful to the fans that have supported me and continue to do so.”

Over the last year, the actor has been accused of rape by four women dating back to the early 2000s, and is currently being investigat­ed by the Los Angeles Police Department.

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