Following Danny Masterson being sentenced to 30 years to life in jail on rape charges, an eerie clip of Conan O'Brien telling the disgraced actor that he would "be caught soon" has resurfaced.
Masterson, best known for his role as Steven Hyde on the popular US sitcom That '70s Show, has been handed a significant prison sentence of 30 years to life after being found guilty of two counts of rape.
The sentencing was announced yesterday by Judge Charlaine Olmedo following a high-profile retrial that drew national attention.
Following this news, a clip from a 2004 episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien has begun circulating on social media, as it appears to show the talk show host predicting Masterson's downfall.
During the clip, the actor was discussing the absence of his Long Island accent, noting that after living in LA for a decade, his accent "just goes away naturally, and then there’s also certain words that there’s nothing you can do about."
Saying that his friend, actor Bodhi Elfman, "teases" him, Masterson said: "He says 'Hi, my name is Danny Masterson, would you like to touch my balls?'", putting emphasis on the final word.
O'Brien questioned: "So why are you asking people to do that? That’s the more important question."
"I mean, you got 'em, you know what I mean? Everybody should grab," Masterson responded, to which O'Brien ominously replied: "I’ve heard about you. And you’ll be caught soon, I know you will."
Laughing it off, Masterson simply replied: "I will".
Although the clip wasn't directly related to the charges that put the actor behind bars, it still feels like an eerie premonition.
The case revolved around accusations from three women, all of whom were members of the Church of Scientology, as is Masterson.
The alleged assaults took place between 2001 and 2003 but came to the forefront in 2020 when Masterson was arrested and initially pleaded not guilty to three counts of felony rape.
The first trial, which took place in November 2022, ended in a mistrial due to a deadlocked jury.
During the retrial earlier this year, the three Jane Does involved in the case provided powerful victim impact statements, including the two women Masterson was convicted of raping and the third whose count was dismissed.
"When you raped me, you stole from me," one of Masterson's victims emotionally declared during her statement. "That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit."
The Church of Scientology's role in the case remained a focal point, with all three accusers alleging that church officials discouraged them from going to the police. The Church of Scientology had previously stated that it has "no policy prohibiting or discouraging members from reporting criminal conduct," per ABC News.
Masterson gained fame through That '70s Show, which ran from 1998 to 2006. His career was thriving during the time of the alleged assaults, and prosecutors argued that his Hollywood home served as the scene for all three crimes. The show was still on the air during the period in question.
Masterson's legal troubles began in March 2017 when he was first investigated by the police. He was later written off from Netflix's The Ranch amid the #MeToo movement.
