“I never saw any of that behavior”: That ’70s Show Star Topher Grace on Danny Masterson’s R*pe Allegations as ‘That ’90s Show’ Kicks Hyde Out of Series

Netflix released the sequel to That ‘70s Show, and the controversy surrounding the cast has come up. Danny Masterson played the lead role in the comedy series, which ran from 1998 to 2006 on Fox. The announcement of its sequel, That ‘90s Show, has led to bringing up the hot topic covering Masterson.

The actor was accused of r*pe charges in 2020, and the trial is still in process. His career came to a standstill after all the accusations he was part of. Even the streaming giant cut ties with the actor for his The Ranch show. The cast of That ‘70s Show addressed the scandal involving their cast member. Topher Grace was the only person who spoke briefly about the charges his co-star is facing.

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Toper Grace speaks on Danny Mastersons, r*pe allegations

With the That ’70s Show cast reuniting for its spin-off, a major character would be missing. Danny Masterson will not reprise his role as Steven Hyde for the Netflix series, That ‘90s Show. The actor was accused of forcibly raping three women. This incident took place separately between the year 2001-2003. He plead not guilty on all the charges in January 2021.

In December 2022 the trial was declared a mistrial after the jury was unable to get a verdict. The lawyers of the actor requested to dismiss the case in January 2023 but instead announced a second trial on March 2023.

With the new series coming up, there are chances of seeing the original cast. However, not a single cast member from the show has commented on the absence of Masterson.

During the year of the allegations and trial, Topher Grace was the only person who addressed the scandal and spoke briefly about it.

He said,

“You know, I hesitate to say that I never saw any of that behavior because I feel like it sounds like I’m defending him, but the truth is I never saw any of that stuff.” 

The actor played the role of Eric Forman in the Fox sitcom and was a co-star of the 46-year actor. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter in 2018, he said, “I was, of that cast, the most boring. So when it came to going out after the show and partying, I just was boring.”

Grace’s statement came a year after Masterson was cut off from his show, The Ranch.

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That ’90s Show features the original cast

The sequel of That ’70s Show named That ’90s Show features Laura Prepon, Topher Grace, Mila Kunis, and some more from the original cast. The new series was announced in October 2021. It takes place two decades after the last one. The series centers around the teenage kids of the original characters, with the original cast also reprising their roles.

Topher Grace was featured in the pilot episode when Eric Forman and Donna Pinciotti visited Eric’s childhood home in Point Place, Wisconsin.  The series premiered on January 2023.

That ’90s Show is available to stream on Netflix.

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Source: US Weekly