Bijou Phillips To Divorce Danny Masterson After Rape Sentencing – Reports

September 20, 2023

US actress Bijou Phillips has reportedly filed for divorce from Danny Masterson less than two weeks after the That ’70s Show star was jailed for two rapes.

Ms Phillips, 43, cited “irreconcilable differences” between the pair after 12 years of marriage, according to documents seen by US media.

She was in court earlier this month when Masterson, 47, was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison.

The couple have a child together.

Attorneys for Ms Phillips and Masterson did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the BBC on Tuesday.

But Peter Lauzon, Ms Phillips’ lawyer, confirmed the divorce filing in a statement to US media, saying: “Her priority remains with [their child].”

Mr Lauzon’s statement added that Masterson “was always present for Phillips during her most difficult times” and “is a wonderful father”.

“She hopes that everyone will respect her family’s privacy in these difficult times,” he wrote.

The divorce petition reportedly filed on Monday in Santa Barbara Superior Court requests full legal and physical custody of their child, as well as spousal support.

It also seeks to “terminate the court’s ability to grant support” to Masterson and asks that their assets be divided up as separate property.

The two were engaged in 2009 and wed in Ireland in 2011.

Ms Phillips, a former teenage model and singer-turned-actress, stood by her husband throughout his lengthy trials on three rape counts stemming from 2003.

Jurors deadlocked on each count against Masterson last year, leading to a mistrial. But another jury in May convicted him on two of three counts. Two women testified he had put drugs in their drinks and violently assaulted them.

In a letter to the judge before his 7 September sentencing, Ms Phillips described Masterson as “a life-saving partner to me”, adding that she was “heartbroken that he is not home with us”.

After the sentence was handed down, she was seen weeping in court and her husband blew a kiss in her direction as he was led from court.

The divorce adds to the continuing fallout from the Masterson conviction.

His former co-stars, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, were forced to apologise after a backlash to their own pre-sentencing letters to the judge in support of leniency. Mr Kutcher has also stepped down from Thorn, a charity he set up to tackle child sexual abuse.

BBC

Written by: Kevin Nwabueze

Bijou Phillips To Divorce Danny Masterson