Current:Home > InvestDanny Masterson's wife Bijou Phillips files for divorce after his 30-year rape sentence -FinTechWorld
Danny Masterson's wife Bijou Phillips files for divorce after his 30-year rape sentence
View
Date:2025-04-17 18:27:07
Bijou Phillips Masterson has filed for divorce from husband Danny Masterson over a week after he was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women.
Phillips filed a petition to end their 11-year marriage on Monday in Santa Barbara court, according to court documents reviewed by USA TODAY. TMZ was first to report the news.
Phillips cited irreconcilable differences as the reason and listed the date of their separation as "TBD." Her petition, signed Sept. 15, requested spousal support as well as restoration of her name to Bijou Phillips and full legal and physical custody of their daughter, with Masterson receiving child visitation.
The two married October 2011 and share a 9-year-old daughter, Fianna Francis Masterson, together.
USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Phillips and Masterson for further information.
Phillips stood by Masterson throughout his two trials. She wept when the guilty verdicts were read on May 31 and showed similar emotion at times during his Sept. 7 sentencing hearing, when a judge handed down the maximum sentence allowed by law to the 47-year-old actor. Masterson will be eligible for parole after serving 25½ years but can be held in prison for life.
A jury of seven women and five men had found Masterson guilty of two counts of rape after seven days of deliberations. Both attacks took place in Masterson's Hollywood-area home in 2003 when he was at the height of his fame on the Fox sitcom "That '70s Show." The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on a third count, an allegation that Masterson also raped a longtime girlfriend.
Masterson maintains his innocence, and his attorneys have said they plan to appeal, contending there were problems with evidence and constitutional issues with his conviction.
Bijou Phillips called Danny Masterson an 'extraordinary husband' a month before divorce
In the character reference letter she wrote in support of her husband last month before his sentencing, Phillips said Masterson has been "a life-saving partner to me" over the course of 19 years together.
"Danny is an amazing father. Our daughter and I are heartbroken that he is not home with us. It has been very difficult without him here," she wrote. "We need him more than you can imagine. I know he has been convicted of serious crimes. But the man I married has only been an extraordinary husband to me and a devoted father to our daughter."
The letter, addressed to Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo and dated Aug. 14, was among dozens that Masterson's family and friends wrote — made public by The Hollywood Reporter — urging leniency in his sentencing.
Who is Bijou Phillips?
Phillips, daughter of "The Mamas and the Papas" singer-songwriter John Phillips and actor Genevieve Waite, was a model as a teenager and released an album before shifting to acting.
She has appeared in films including "Almost Famous" and television shows including "Raising Hopes" and "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit."
Ashton Kutcherresigns from anti-child sex abuse nonprofit after supporting Danny Masterson
Contributing: Associated Press
veryGood! (239)
Related
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- Here's what the latest inflation report means for your money
- Senators slam Ticketmaster over bungling of Taylor Swift tickets, question breakup
- 3 dead, multiple people hurt in Greyhound bus crash on Illinois interstate highway ramp
- Warm inflation data keep S&P 500, Dow, Nasdaq under wraps before Fed meeting next week
- Too Much Sun Degrades Coatings That Keep Pipes From Corroding, Risking Leaks, Spills and Explosions
- An otter was caught stealing a surfboard in California. It was not the first time she's done it.
- Saying goodbye to Pikachu and Ash, plus how Pokémon changed media forever
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- Oil refineries release lots of water pollution near communities of color, data show
Ranking
- Dick Vitale announces he is cancer free: 'Santa Claus came early'
- Inside Clean Energy: Here Is How Covid Is Affecting Some of the Largest Wind, Solar and Energy Storage Projects
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $300 Backpack for Just $89
- A robot was scheduled to argue in court, then came the jail threats
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Taylor Swift and Gigi Hadid Prove Their Friendship Never Goes Out of Style in NYC
- Environmental Justice Plays a Key Role in Biden’s Covid-19 Stimulus Package
- The First Native American Cabinet Secretary Visits the Land of Her Ancestors and Sees Firsthand the Obstacles to Compromise
Recommendation
Biden administration makes final diplomatic push for stability across a turbulent Mideast
An otter was caught stealing a surfboard in California. It was not the first time she's done it.
Video: In California, the Northfork Mono Tribe Brings ‘Good Fire’ to Overgrown Woodlands
In Final Debate, Trump and Biden Display Vastly Divergent Views—and Levels of Knowledge—On Climate
'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
After Hurricane Harvey, a Heated Debate Over Flood Control Funds in Texas’ Harris County
Exxon announced record earnings. It's bound to renew scrutiny of Big Oil
Covid-19 Shutdowns Were Just a Blip in the Upward Trajectory of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions