The Masterson’s Scientology roots: As Malcolm In The Middle’s Christopher prepares for TV return how his famous family’s religion formed a key part in disgraced brother Danny’s rape case
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In the Noughties, brothers Christopher and Danny Masterson dominated the TV scene.
Danny, 49, was famed for his role as Steven Hyde in That ’70s Show, while Christopher played Francis in Malcolm in the Middle – which is now coming back for a reboot after two decades off screen.
Despite being well-known in the industry, the brothers ended up retreating from the spotlight, both taking up careers as DJs and raising families.
While the brothers stepped away from the public eye, their half-siblings Alanna and Jordan began to make a name for themselves in Hollywood, landing roles in The Walking Dead and The 40-Year-Old Virgin respectively.
In 2020, the Masterson brothers were thrust back into the spotlight, however, when Danny was accused of raping three women at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 and 2003.
The Mastersons were all raised as Scientologists, and their religion ultimately played a large part in the trial.
Danny’s accusers were all ex-Scientologists and were also suing the Church of Scientology in civil court, claiming that they’d been harassed and intimidated since reporting Danny to police.
He was ultimately sentenced to 30 years in jail for two counts of rape with force, violence or fear of bodily injury.
After his sentencing in 2023, Danny was expelled from the Church of Scientology and declared a ‘suppressive person’ – or ‘SP’ – which the church defines as someone whose behavior seeks to impede the spiritual progress of those around him.
But even with the expulsion, the church maintains that Danny is innocent of all charges, according to insiders.
From childhood to today, the Church of Scientology had been a mainstay in the Masterson sibling’s lives.
Their mother Carole was a Scientologist. She split from Danny and Christopher’s father Peter in the early Eighties and married fellow Scientologist Joe Reaiche in 1984.The couple then took the joint decision to join the church’s clergy or Sea Org.
Danny was nine and Christopher five when the family moved into the Sea Org’s Clearwater, Florida, headquarters, having signed obligatory contracts vowing allegiance to the church for ‘a billion years.’
Within a year Carole had given birth to their first born, Jordan.
Content retrieved from: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-14639751/Mastersons-Scientology-Danny-rape-Christopher-Malcolm-Middle.html.
