In 2023, Danny Masterson was convicted of two counts of rape and sentenced to 30 years in prison. Justice was delayed, and several of Masterson’s victims did not get justice, but all of Masterson’s victims were happy with his sentencing. Masterson’s best friends, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, were less pleased, and they even sent a letter of support for Masterson. Interestingly, just weeks after Masterson’s sentencing, his wife Bijou Phillips filed for divorce. They share a daughter, who is now 11 years old. Well, there are some updates. Bijou has filed to change their daughter’s name, and Bijou is moving on with a new man.
Bijou Phillips is asking a California court to change the name of the daughter she shares with actor Danny Masterson, who is currently in prison after being convicted of rape. According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Phillips, 45, filed on Friday, Oct. 24, to change her 11-year-old daughter’s name from Fianna Francis Masterson to Fianna Francis Phillips, swapping out her ex-husband’s surname for her own. The filing is awaiting approval from a judge. TMZ was the first to report the news.
A judge also changed both Phillips and Masterson’s legal statuses to “single” on Friday, according to an additional court document obtained by PEOPLE.
PEOPLE reached out to attorneys for both Phillips and Masterson for comment on the filing.
Masterson, 49, is incarcerated at North Kern State Prison in Delano, Calif., after he was convicted for the rape of two women in September 2023 following a retrial. Phillips filed for divorce from Masterson about two weeks after his sentencing, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for their split. The couple was married for nearly 12 years. According to documents previously obtained by PEOPLE, Masterson then agreed to give his estranged wife full legal and physical custody of their daughter, with Masterson requesting visitation rights.Following her divorce from Masterson, the Raising Hope alum has been linked to businessman Jamie Mazur. A source exclusively told PEOPLE in June 2024 that the former actress has found a new outlook on life after finding love with Mazur amid her divorce from Masterson.
“After Danny was found guilty, Bijou had a hard time,” the source said. “She has been incredibly sad for their daughter. It’s just so awful that she lost her dad. Bijou has leaned on a small group of friends for support since she filed for divorce.”
I’m glad the little girl is getting her mother’s surname and I hope Masterson doesn’t put up a fight about it. I think Bijou’s denial lasted up until her husband’s sentencing, and then everything crashed down on her. I wish she hadn’t stuck by him through his trials and I wish she had listened to what his victims said in court. But here we are. I hope Fianna Phillips never has to see her father again. It was widely rumored last year that Bijou left Scientology after she filed for divorce from Masterson. I don’t know if that’s true, but there are also rumors that she’s raising Fianna as a Catholic now.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Los Angeles, CA – Actor Danny Masterson is in court once again as he stands trial on three charges of forcible rape. The jury in the case was unable to reach a decision after three days of deliberations and were ordered to return today. Judge Charlaine Olmedo replaced two jurors today after they had notified the court that they had tested positive for Covid. The judge replaced the jurors with two alternates and ordered that they begin deliberations again. Pictured: Bijou Phillips, Danny Masterson BACKGRID USA 28 NOVEMBER 2022 USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Jury deliberations resumed today in the rape trial of “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson, one day after jurors were ordered to begin anew with two alternates added, following news that two panelists had tested positive for COVID-19. Pictured: Danny Masterson, Bijou Phillips BACKGRID USA 29 NOVEMBER 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: no byline@backgrid.com / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Jury deliberations resumed today in the rape trial of “That ’70s Show” star Danny Masterson, one day after jurors were ordered to begin anew with two alternates added, following news that two panelists had tested positive for COVID-19. Pictured: Danny Masterson, Bijou Phillips BACKGRID USA 29 NOVEMBER 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: no byline@backgrid.com / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Santa Ynez, CA – Bijou Phillips stops by a Food Distribution Mission in Santa Ynez but only leaves with a book. Pictured: Bijou Phillips BACKGRID USA 21 SEPTEMBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Clint Brewer Photography / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Santa Ynez, CA – Bijou Phillips stops by a Food Distribution Mission in Santa Ynez but only leaves with a book. Pictured: Bijou Phillips BACKGRID USA 21 SEPTEMBER 2023 BYLINE MUST READ: Clint Brewer Photography / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Are they divorced or aren’t they? As soon as my divorce went through, I didn’t need a judge to change my legal status to “single,” it was granted through the divorce decree.
Bijou was brought up in such a strange way- including complete neglect as her parents were…. messy.
She found a thing she thought would be stable, a real family, and now she is reeling.
The victims of Masterson’s crimes are the victims of his rapes and everyone else he wronged that scientology harassed for daring to speak out against one of their “stars”.
I feel a certain sympathy for the child of course.
Anybody notice that most “religions” set up systems that benefit men in power.
The whole- you are responsible for the horrific, criminal acts done to you- is so embedded in religion for the benefit of men in power.
It’s almost like that’s exactly what organized religion is, a power structure. But I digress.
I don’t l know what I think about Bijou but this is absolutely the right move for her daughter, who can make her own decisions as an adult about her name, identity and relationship with her father, but for now gets a clean slate.
Yeah, I really hope her daughter gets a nice, normal, stable childhood. Good for Bijou for (seemingly) making some good choices for her as of late.
And somehow Diddy got way less time…
That quotation from “The Age of Innocence” crept into my head when reading the headline. When Mrs. Mingott said, “Your name was Beaufort when he covered you with jewels, and it’s got to stay Beaufort now that he’s covered you with shame.”
Oh, snap! It’s good to be living in the 21st century!
I love Edith Wharton! Call me!
There are many many great life truths hiding in “ the age of innocence” . As I get older I keep seeing even more.
Jamie Mazur…wasn’t he with Alessandra Ambrosio? (Don’t ask me how my brain remembers this stuff). And wasn’t Bijou very acrimoniously defending Masterson everywhere even after he was convicted? It’s interesting how she filed for divorce so quickly. I get the sense that she is being controlled by Scientology. People with tons of childhood trauma love their cults.
Also, is it sad that a child lost her father? Because who did she lose, really? She lost the influence of someone who does great harm to women. I’m not so sure it’s a loss to her in the end, no matter how nice he might’ve been to her as a child.
My first thought when she divorced him was that it was to protect their assets from potential civil cases. Am I way off about this, C/B lawyers?
I feel bad for how she grew up and I don’t blame her for her ex-husband’s crimes but I don’t respect her either.
Given what Mackenzie alleged about John Phillips that surname isn’t a great one either.
That’s what I thought of. Not great choices
Mila and Ashton were pissed off because they lost a ton of money from Danny’s conviction turning That 70s Show into a poisonous property.
I think 11 is old enough that most judges will at least hear you out in court, maybe this is Fianna’s own choice to change her surname?