They know it is going to look horrible for this former A- lister and don’t want the world watching.

There is crazy money being thrown around right now to try and dissuade news organizations from broadcasting a preliminary hearing next month in a criminal case.

They know it is going to look horrible for this former A- lister and don’t want the world watching.

They will be.

Danny Masterson

Scientology

‘That ’70s Show’ actor Danny Masterson ordered to court May 18 to hear testimony in L.A. rape case

After a series of delays, “That ’70s Show” actor Danny Masterson has been ordered to appear in court May 18 to face testimony at a preliminary hearing in his Los Angeles rape case.

A judge set the date Wednesday, noting Masterson was first charged in the case last June.

“This case has been pending now coming up to a year,” Judge Charlaine Olmedo said, advising defense lawyer Thomas Mesereau and Assistant District Attorney Reinhold Mueller that she planned to hold the hearing “within the statutory period” regardless of any further requests for delay or issues raised at an April 20 status hearing.

“Ultimately, at the end of that day, that’s what it is. It’s not complicated,” she said.

In the absence of an indictment, California prosecutors must show enough evidence at a preliminary hearing to convince a judge there’s probable cause to justify holding a trial.

Judge Olmedo said Masterson must show up in person May 18 for the prosecution’s presentation that’s expected to last three to four days.

Mesereau has been appearing on the actor’s behalf over the last few months due to the coronavirus pandemic and entered Masterson’s not-guilty plea himself in January.

Before the hearing started Wednesday, Mesereau argued that media should be excluded because he considered prior coverage of the case “negative” and “not well-balanced,” and he argued such coverage might taint the jury pool for a possible trial.

“We want a fair trial for our client,” he argued before Olmedo denied his motion.

Masterson, 45, is accused of raping three women in separate incidents at his Hollywood Hills home. – Source