Danny Masterson’s stepfather has claimed his children lied to help their half-brother during his high-profile rape trial – and may have committed perjury in the process.
In letters asking for leniency for their older brother, Jordan and Alanna Masterson portrayed their father, Joe Reaiche, as a good-for-nothing and convicted rapist Danny as a parental surrogate.
In an interview this week, Reaiche – a former rugby league player turned Scientologist who met Masterson’s mother in the 1980s – said he is considering suing his children over the letters, and further accused the Clearwater Church of ‘brainwashing’.
The claims, delivered to The Daily Beast, were eerily reminiscent of statements Reaiche made to DailyMail.com nearly a decade ago — in which he claimed that all his Scientologist children disowned him after he was excommunicated in 2005.
In letters to LA Supreme Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo, Jordan, 36, and Walking Dead star Alanna, 35, both wrote that their father had left them “for all intents and purposes” when they were under 10, leaving Masterson, when 16, was forced to resign.
Danny Masterson’s stepfather, Joe Reaiche, claimed his children lied to help their half-brother during his high-profile rape trial – and may have committed perjury in the process
In letters asking for clemency for their older brothers, Jordan (third from left) and Alanna (far left) – seen here with their older half-brothers Christopher (second from left) and newly convicted Danny – they depicted their father as a good-for-nothing and the convicted rapist as a parental surrogate
“My father, for all intents and purposes, left when I was six years old,” wrote Jordan, a star of the sitcom Last Man Standing — in one of many letters pleading for leniency for the That ’70s Show actor following his conviction for raping two of the women in the early 2000s. “My sister was four.”
Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith were among others who took up the cause for the former prankster — though their stories failed to convince Olmedo, who hit Masterson with a 30-year-to-life sentence Thursday.
Jordan wrote about his and his siblings’ lives with mother Carol after 1995: “We were raised by a single mother who worked her whole life to provide her children with a life we could be proud of.
“She preached hard work and integrity, respect for herself and others, kindness and patience,” he continued.
“No one embodies these qualities better than my brother Danny.”
The story, revealed by reporter Tony Ortega after Masterson’s sentencing Friday, went on to paint a picture of a peaceful household in the period between the divorce and Joe’s banishment from Scientology in 2005 – with the rising actor supposedly fulfilling the duties left by their father .
‘When my father left, my brother took on a kind of pseudo-father figure role for my sister and me, even though he was only sixteen at the time.
“Providing not only money in lean times (and there was plenty of it), but also wisdom and guidance,” he wrote.
“He gave us an example of what it is like to be loving, professional and respectful. Speaking as a young man without a father, having my big brother as a leader was a godsend.
Taking me to baseball practice, picking me up from school, introducing me to movies, music and art… While there’s no replacing a young boy’s father, I’d say a great older brother, in my experience, comes very close .
“Without my brother, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.”
Masterson – seen here during his final hearing in May – was sentenced Thursday to 30 years to life for raping two women in LA between 2001 and 2003
Calling herself Masterson’s “only sister and youngest sibling,” Alana’s correspondence gave a very similar impression – one that father Joe vehemently challenged on Friday.
“My brother is facing a long sentence, so I wanted to give you some insight into the man who shaped me into the person I am today,” it began.
‘Danny is my best friend and helped raise me when my father left us.
“My mother took care of all of us on her own and Danny stepped in to carry that burden. He helped us all financially, but also with the daily events of his younger siblings.”
Citing activities such as attending her “many” ballet recitals and taking her to sleepovers during their upbringing in LA, she also claimed that the actor helped her when she was attending school at the New York Film Academy in the early 2000s – during which time she lived in his New York apartment.
She also brought up Masterson’s relationship with his nine-year-old daughter and model Bijou Phillips, Fianna, who Alanna called “best friends.”
“He is the best father and husband I know,” Alanna insisted. “He is the true North Star of our family…I hope you will consider all of this information regarding your sentencing.”
In the impressive interview Friday, Joe labeled both of his children’s stories — which came alongside other fawn yarns from fellow That 70s Show alumni like Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and more — as decidedly false.
“My son and daughter have very short memories of their father,” Reaiche, who now lives in Florida, told The Beast — before pointing out several inconsistencies that he said proved his point.
‘Carol filed for divorce in Los Angeles in 1995. Jordan was born in 1986. He was nine, not six. Then there’s the first thing that’s wrong.’
Much more striking, however, was Jordan and Alanna’s claim, which suggested he had abandoned his children – a feeling he said had been wrongly implanted in their minds by the Church of Scientology.
“They make it sound like I walked out and abandoned them and Danny was the hero,” Joe said of the period between the divorce and being labeled a “suppressive person” by the church in 2005. was labeled.
Contrary to his children’s claims, he said that during that ten-year period – during which Masterson hit the big time by landing his role in the groundbreaking sitcom – he was a constant presence in the lives of all four of his children, half-son Christopher , of Malcom in the Middle fame, included.
“They actually made money, and I gave them money. Carol was their manager,” he said of the four siblings, all of whom were raised as Scientologists.
Jordan Masterson, Alanna Masterson, Masterson’s model wife Bijou Phillips and the convicted actor are seen during the Scientology Celebrity Center’s 21st ‘Christmas Stories’ at the Scientology Celebrity Center in 2013
“I paid for their summer school at that expensive Scientology school in Oregon, Delphi. That was $5,000 per person.” said the Lebanese-Australian former athlete.
“I slept on couches so the kids would be okay,” he said, adding that he spent about $300,000 on the two in the 10 years between his divorce and excommunication.
He also touched on how he was still in contact with Jordan, then a 19-year-old adult, just before he was exiled by Scientology – after which he claimed all his children had cut him off for good.
He claimed that in 2004 — nine years after the siblings said he had left them — he actually helped his son through the church’s notoriously difficult “audit” undertaking, which involves interviewing candidates with the goal of identifying the individual. ridding yourself of negative influences from the past. events or behavior.
“Jordan seems to forget that he was audited at the Celebrity Center in 2004 and it went badly,” he told the newspaper just hours after his half-son’s conviction.
‘Carol asked me to do an ethical cycle on my son. So I did my thing, I straightened him out, and he did a great job. So I was in his life in 2004, when he was 18. Danny even complimented me on it.’
He continued, “I went to Christmas dinner with them at the house in Glendale that year, in 2004. Chris’s girlfriend, Laura Prepon, was there. I had dinner with them.’