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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.
The Masterson’s Scientology roots: How the famous family’s religion formed a key part in disgraced actor Danny’s rape case (Danny pictured with Christopher in 2009)
Christopher is set to return to the spotlight with the Malcolm In The Middle reboot (pictured on the show with Frankie Muniz and Justin Berfield)
Chris, Danny, Alanna and Jordan Masterson (L-R in 2006) were raised by Scientologists and their religious upbringing formed a part of Danny’s rape case
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.
The siblings are pictured with their mother Carol, a Scientologist, who once lived with the church’s clergy, named Sea Org, in Florida
Danny and Christopher’s stepfather Joe Reaiche, who is the biological father of Jordan and Alanna previously claimed his children had been ‘brainwashed’ by Scientology
Yet they soon decided to leave the headquarters after Joe claimed to witness seeing members punished by RPF – the Rehabilitation Project Force.
Joe previously told DailyMail.com in 2015 how being a Sea Org was tantamount to ‘slave labor’ as he and Carole worked 60 or 70 hour weeks for $30 a week.
‘You’re basically signing your soul away,’ he said. ‘And it goes from bad to worse at that point,’ he said.
The couple left in 1986 and became lay members of the community. They went to California where the kids began auditioning for roles.
They later moved to New York for Joe’s work and in 1988, Alanna was born.
Throughout this time both Carole and Joe were taking course after course on the Church of Scientology’s insistence that it was necessary and shelling out tens of thousands of dollars each year.
It became a strain on Joe’s relationship with the church and on the marriage.
A failed business venture that ended up costing him thousands placed even more pressure on the already strained union and, in 1995, Carole and Joe divorced.
By then, Joe admitted, he was ‘just done’ with Scientology. He said: ‘You begin to lose the faith and you start to see that you’re buying the idea of being a supreme being but that’s not being delivered.’
Joe had been determined to stay on good terms with his ex-wife and children so he tried to avoid any confrontation with the church.
But in the eyes of the church Joe had traduced Hubbard’s teachings and technologies and his ex-wife Carole had reported him to the church.
In October 2004 Joe was summoned but couldn’t come as he was in Atlanta on business. It wasn’t until January 2005 that he ended up in front of a Court of Ethics in Clearwater, Florida.
Joe said it was a ‘kangaroo court’ and that he ‘knew it was going to be a hatchet job’.
Danny (2L) was famed for his role as Steven Hyde in That ’70s Show. He is pictured with Mila Kunis, Wilmer Valderrama, Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace and Laura Prepon
Christopher was known for playing Francis on Malcolm In The Middle
Eventually Joe was formally shunned and deemed a ‘suppressive person’ for questioning certain teachings.
He tried to make contact with his family and friends in the church but no one would answer him.
Ever since, he has had no contact with Matterson or any other of his children or step-children.
He told DailyMail.com in 2015: ‘I love my kids. Maybe I’ll bump into them one day. They’re probably going to be shocked. But I’m just going to say: “I love you. I hope you do well. I’ll miss you for the rest of my life. I’ll always be your dad”.’
A Scientology spokeswoman said at the time: ‘Mr. Reaiche’s expulsion from the religion occurred a decade ago. He has had ample opportunities to resolve his personal relationships, but has instead used his one-time association with the Church to generate publicity.’
The Masterson siblings declined to comment.
While Joe has not seen his children for years, both him and The Church of Scientology played a major role in Danny’s rape trial.
When Danny was charged, his younger siblings Jordan and Alanna wrote asking for leniency for their older brother, painting their father Joe, as a deadbeat and convicted rapist Danny as a parental surrogate.
In letters to LA Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo, Jordan and Alanna both wrote their father left them ‘for all intents and purposes’ when they were under age 10, forcing Danny, then 16, to step up.
All of the Masterson children have acted. Jordan is pictured with Amanda Fuller ABC sitcom in Last Man Standing
Alanna Masterson played Tara Chamblera in The Walking Dead
In response, Joe claimed his children had lied to help their brother and doubled down on his claims that Scientology ‘brainwashed them’.
Christopher did not send a letter and has not spoken publicly about his links to Scientology or Danny’s sentencing.
During Danny’s trial the judge allowed expert testimony on church policy from a former official in Scientology leadership who had become a prominent opponent.
The church said in a statement after the jury’s verdict that the ‘introduction of religion into this trial was an unprecedented violation of the First Amendment and affects the due process rights of every American.
‘The Church was not a party to this case and religion did not belong in this proceeding as Supreme Court precedent has maintained for centuries.’
Tensions ran high in the courtroom between current and former Scientologists, and even leaked into testimony, with the accusers saying on the stand that they felt intimidated by some members in the room.
The women testified that when they reported Danny to church officials, they were told they were not raped, were put through ethics programs themselves, and were warned against going to law enforcement to report a member of such high standing.
‘They were raped, they were punished for it, and they were retaliated against,’ Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller told jurors in his closing argument. ‘Scientology told them there’s no justice for them.’
The church called the ‘testimony and descriptions of Scientology beliefs’ during the trial ‘uniformly false.’
‘The Church has no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct of anyone – Scientologists or not – to law enforcement,’ the statement said.
Despite being well-known in the industry, the brothers ended up retreating from the spotlight, both taking up careers as DJs and raising families (pictured in 2009)
The Church of Scientology of Los Angeles is pictured. Scientology was founded in the Fifties by L. Ron Hubbard
As for Danny’s personal relationship with Scientology, he opened up about his membership of the church in an interview with Paper Magazine in 2015.
‘In Scientology, there’s no belief system or anyone who’s worshipped or whatnot; it’s all sort of like college of the mind,’ the now-convicted rapist told the publication.
‘And so I grew up not having to go and pray to anyone. I grew up just sort of like, “Oh, if you’re thirsty, drink water”.’
Danny said it wasn’t until high school that he started taking his participation in the church more seriously. He said he read Dianetics, a book of ideas written by the Church Of Scientology’s founder L. Ron Hubbard
‘[Hubbard] basically spent his entire life studying every great religion, found everything that worked, found things that didn’t work, took the stuff that worked, started like questioning it and grilling it and drilling it, going over and over until he could find the things that worked every time, guaranteed,’ Danny said.
Danny has continually remained loyal to the highly controversial church and has hit out at those questioning his beliefs.
He told Paper Magazine: ‘I work, I have a family and I’m a spiritual being who likes to understand why things happen in the world and want to learn more so that I can have them not affect me adversely.
‘So if that’s weird, then, well, you can go f*** yourself.’
