Convicted Actor Blames Lawyer for Weak Defense in Rape Retrial Bid

In November 2025, former "That '70s Show" actor Danny Masterson is making a bid to overturn his 2023 rape conviction. Masterson, who is currently serving a 30-year sentence at the California Men's Colony, has filed a petition for habeas corpus, blaming his trial attorney, Philip Cohen, for putting on a poor defense.

According to the filing, Masterson "implored (Cohen) to present at least a minimal modicum of defense evidence, but counsel refused." The petition argues that Cohen failed to call any witnesses and did not push back on prosecutors' claims about Scientology, which played a prominent role in both of Masterson's trials.

Prosecutors had argued that the women Masterson was convicted of raping were discouraged from reporting a high-profile member of the church, and two of them testified they were threatened with excommunication if they went to the police. However, the defense did not call a key witness, Hugh Whitt, a longtime Scientologist, who could have rebutted the prosecution's claims about the church's policies.