Leah Remini Blasts ‘Disgusting Antics’ Of Danny Masterson’s Lawyers During Rape Trial

LOS ANGELES — Danny Masterson drugged women’s drinks so he could rape them, then relied on his prominence in the Church of Scientology to avoid consequences for years, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in closing arguments at the actor’s trial.

entire closing argument Wednesday, focusing on inconsistencies in the stories of each of the three victims, all former Scientologists, and suggesting they were in cahoots to lash out at the church and win a separate civil lawsuit.Los Angeles prosecutors chose to re-try Masterson after a hung jury and mistrial last November. This time around, prosecutors focused more on the allegation that Masterson had drugged his victims, calling a date-rape-drug expert witnesses and saying outright – as opposed to merely inferring, as they did in the first trial – that the “That ’70s Show” star slipped his victims an intoxicant.“This defendant drugged and raped each of these victims,” Mueller said Wednesday.

The jury in Danny Masterson’s rape retrial has begun deliberations.

Jurors in Danny Masterson’s rape retrial are expected to begin deliberations Wednesday morning after lawyers wrap up closing arguments in the case against the former “That ’70s Show” star.

Danny Masterson drugged women’s drinks so he could rape them, then relied on his prominence in the Church of Scientology to avoid consequences for years, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday in closing arguments at the actor’s trial. "The defendant drugs his victims to gain control. He does this to take away his victims’ ability to consent," Deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson told the jury of seven men and five women.

That ‘70s Show — is on trial for the second time following allegations of rape. The first ended in a mistrial back in December 2022.Masterson is accused of three charges of rape, all taking place at his home between the period of 2001 and 2003.

hung jury and mistrial last November.This time around, prosecutors focused more on the allegation that Masterson somehow drugged his victims, brining on expert witnesses and saying outright – as opposed to merely inferring – that the “That ’70s Show” star used some kind of date-rape drug to get “control” of his victims.“It all starts with a drink. How many times have you hear the defendant give a drink to an unsusepecting victim?” Anson said to begin her closing statement.

“It all starts with a drink,” said deputy District Attorney Ariel Anson today in closing arguments in Danny Masterson’s rape retrial. “How many times have you heard the defendant ask, would you like a drink? This is his play book, this is what he does…how he ensures to get what he wants.”

Closing arguments are expected to begin Tuesday at the second trial of "That ’70s Show" actor Danny Masterson, who is charged with raping three women at his Los Angeles home between 2001 and 2003. Attorneys for both sides rested their cases Friday, three weeks into the trial. Masterson's defense attorneys declined to call any witnesses.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A Singapore-based Russian national Lev Panfilov is now on trial in the city on four charges of molesting, sexually assaulting and raping a woman. The man is an actor and online personality known to the public from the WahBanana YouTube channel, where he appeared between 2020 and May 2021. He is currently employed in the job recruitment industry. The incident is alleged to have occurred in January 2021 after Panfilov and the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, met in person for the first time. Singapore media report that Panfilov has requested that the case move to trial. Proceedings that began on Tuesday included testimony from a police officer who took Panfilov’s underwear and bedding as samples.

Tony Ortega wrote Monday the actress was celebrated for donating this “cumulative” amount to the International Association of Scientologists (IAS), the church’s membership organization.Back in 2019, Cartwright achieved “Diamond Laureate With Honors” status, reflecting that she’d given Scientology about $17.5 million, Ortega said.This new issue of Impact reported that on New Year’s Eve, she received a trophy for reaching “Patron Excalibur With Honors,” suggesting she’s now donated about $21 million in donations to the IAS.Cartwright is also believed to have given a fortune towards the construction of the San Fernando Valley Ideal Org, which opened in 2017.She has been public about being a Scientologist, lobbying state legislators in Illinois in 2011 to allow a children’s version of “The Way to Happiness,” a key text by its founder L. Ron Hubbard, to be used in schools.

Three weeks after opening statements began, Danny Masterson’s rape retrial today rested. Yet, with the former That 70s Show actor once again facing a trio of sexual assault charges and potentially years behind bars, the Church of Scientology is back in the courtroom spotlight.

three different women told jurors that Masterson raped them at his Los Angeles home in separate – but chillingly similar – incidents between 2001 and 2003. A fourth Jane Doe had also testified as a support witness, but her allegations were not among the charges.Masterson must be convicted on at least two of the three charged cases, in order to clear a California statute-of-limitations bar.

HBO is about to lose one of its most popular comedy series this month, as “Barry” comes to a close. But in June, it appears that “The Righteous Gemstones” is returning to pick up some of that comedy slack.  As seen in the teaser for “The Righteous Gemstones” Season 3, the televangelist family you love to laugh at returns with even more ridiculousness.

TRUMP: Well, historically, that’s true with stars.KAPLAN: It’s true with stars that they can grab women by the p—sy?TRUMP: Well, that’s what, if you look over the last million years I guess that’s been largely true. Not always, but largely true. Unfortunately or fortunately.KAPLAN: And you consider yourself to be a star?TRUMP: I think you can say that.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Guy Fieri is rolling out “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” into a new Emmys category. Food Network has successfully petitioned the Television Academy to move the long-running food reality series back to the outstanding structured reality category, where it will compete against other popular series such as “Love is Blind,” “Queer Eye” and “Shark Tank.” It had previously been submitted for hosted nonfiction series or special since 2020. Read: Variety’s Awards Circuit for the latest Emmy predictions in all categories. Hosted by Fieri since the show’s debut in 2007, the show had received six Emmy nominations — five for outstanding structured reality program from 2014-2019 and outstanding reality program in 2013, the last year before the category was separated into two for structured and unstructured programming.

A subtle tribute. Before Queen Consort Camilla is officially crowned during her husband King Charles III’s coronation, she will enter Westminster Abbey with a small piece of Queen Elizabeth II’s memory.

Ed Sheeran just made a major revelation during his testimony in the ongoing copyright lawsuit against him.During testimony Thursday, Sheeran revealed that he cannot read music. After sharing his occupation, marital status and dropping a few big industry names he's written for — Justin Bieber, BTS, The Weeknd, Taylor Swift and Elton John to name a few — Sheeran shared that he not only can't read music but also doesn't have a degree in the field.In discussing how his love for song began, the «Perfect» singer said he learned about music as a child from his church choir, noting that he first started songwriting at the age of 13 while on a trip to Ireland with his father.

An attorney for Danny Masterson challenged his former longtime girlfriend during cross-examination Wednesday on why her trial testimony alleging the actor raped her in 2001 included several new details that were missing from the accounts she gave authorities at the beginning of the investigation. "Is your testimony today that you can now remember things in 2023 that you didn’t remember in 2017?" Masterson's lawyer Shawn Holley asked the model and actor who is the first witness to take the stand in the Los Angeles courtroom at Masterson's trial on three rape charges.

Actor Danny Masterson drugged then raped three women at his Hollywood-area home between 2001 and 2003, a prosecutor told jurors Monday in his opening statement in the retrial of the star of "That ’70s Show." Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller said Masterson put substances into drinks that he gave to a longtime girlfriend and two women he knew through friend circles around the Church of Scientology, all of whom Masterson is charged with raping. "The evidence will show that they were drugged," Mueller told the jury.The defense denies such evidence exists.