M. Nur. Rezki
2 min readSep 20, 2023

Bijou Phillips divorces Danny Masterson after rape conviction – report

(Photo by theguardian. com)

American 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, spoke of "irreconcilable differences" between the two men after 12 years of marriage, according to documents seen by US media.

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

The couple has one child together.

Lawyers for Ms Phillips and Masterson did not immediately respond to the BBC's request for comment on Tuesday. But Peter Lauzon, Miss Phillips' lawyer, confirmed the divorce filing in a statement to US media, saying:
“Her priority is still [their child].”

Mr. Lauzon's statement added that Masterson “was always there for Phillips during his most difficult times” and “was a wonderful father.”

“She hopes everyone will respect her family's privacy during this difficult time,” he wrote.

Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping two women

Kutcher and Kunis:
Backlash over support for Masterson

Kutcher left the charity after Masterson's backlash

The divorce petition was reportedly filed Monday in Santa Barbara Superior Court and seeks full legal and physical custody of the children as well as spousal support.

It also seeks to "terminate the court's ability to award alimony" to Masterson and require that their assets be divided into separate assets.

The two became engaged in 2009 and married in Ireland in 2011. Ms. Phillips, a former teen model and singer turned actress, supported her husband throughout his lengthy trial on three counts of rape from 2003.

The jury deadlocked on all counts against Masterson last year, leading to a mistrial.

But in May, another jury found him guilty of two of the three counts. Two women testified that he slipped drugs into their drinks and violently assaulted them.

In a letter to the judge before sentencing on September 7, Phillips described Masterson as "the partner who saved my life", adding that she was "heartbroken that he was not home with us" . After the verdict was announced, she was seen crying in court and her husband blew a kiss as he was led out of court.

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

His former co-stars, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, were forced to apologize after backlash over their own pre-sentence letters to the judge pleading for leniency.

Mr. Kutcher also resigned from Thorn, a charity he founded to fight child sexual abuse.