The Netflix executive who was fired last month for telling a woman who claimed to have been raped by Danny Masterson that his company did not believe the accusations against the actor says he regrets his ‘careless’ offhand remark and takes full responsibility for it.
Andy Yeatman, Netflix’s now-former global director of children’s content, on Wednesday penned a first-person account for The Hollywood Reporter, detailing his 30-second interaction with the accuser on the sidelines of his nine-year-old’s soccer game, which cost him his job.
‘I always tell my daughters that words have power,’ the former network executive says. ‘And last month…I got a brutal reminder of just how much they do.’
Andy Yeatman (left), Netflix’s now-former global director of children’s content, was fired in December after telling a woman who claimed to have been raped by Danny Masterson (right) that his company did not believe the accusations
Ousted: Netflix terminated Masterson from the show The Ranch, also starring Ashton Kutcher (right)
Yeatman writes in the column for the entertainment industry’s trade publication that he was couching his daughter’s team during a playoff game on December 3 in Los Feliz, California, when he was approached by a woman asking him if he worked for Netflix, and then bringing up Masterson’s new comedy show, The Ranch, also starring his former That 70’s Show co-star Ashton Kutcher.
As the director of kids’ programing for Netflix, Yeatman had no direct ties to Masterson or his project, and he writes that at first he thought the woman was just another parent who, knowing that he worked for the streaming service, wished to chat about the sitcom.
Yeatman was quickly disabused of that notion when his interlocutor inquired why Netflix had not pulled the plug on The Ranch after Masterson had been accused of sexual assault.
‘At that point, I should have excused myself and referred her to someone at the company who was authorized to discuss the show,’ the married father-of-three writes. ‘Unfortunately, I didn’t. My reply, which I hoped would end the conversation so I could refocus on coaching, came out horribly wrong.
‘I said: “Netflix takes these things very seriously. Maybe in this case we don’t believe them [the accusations].” I immediately regretted it. When she told me that she was one of the victims before walking away, my heart sank.’
Netflix later confirmed that exchange, saying Yeatman’s remarks ‘were careless, uninformed and do not represent the views of the company.’
Masterson has denied the allegations agaisnt him and no charges have been filed. The 41-year-old Scientologist is married to actress Bijou Phillips (pictured together, right)
In an attempt to set the record straight, Yeatman came up to the Masterson accuser at the end of the soccer game and explained to her that it was not up to him to decide whether or not to cancel The Ranch.
He also noted that when he spoke to her earlier, he did not know she was an accuser, to which the woman tearfully replied: ‘I hope no one ever says that to your daughter,’ according to reports.
Four women so far have come forward accusing the alum of That 70’s Show of sexual assault, among them three members of the Church of Scientology, of which Masterson is also a member.
Netflix announced Masterson’s firing from The Ranch on December 5, saying that production would ‘resume in early 2018 without him.’
A week later, Yeatman was ousted from the company.
Masterson, 41, who is married to actress Bijou Phillips and has a three-year-old daughter with her, has vehemently denied the allegations against him, calling them ‘outrageous.’
‘Law enforcement investigated these claims more than 15 years ago and determined them to be without merit,’ he said in a statement released in the wake of his termination.
The LAPD opened an investigation into the rape claims from the women stemming back to the early 2000s but no charges have been filed.
Last week, the talent agency UTA, which had represented Masterson for two decades, dropped him as a client, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In his column for The Hollywood Reporter, Yeatman says that he has been supportive of the #MeToo movement to end sexual harassment and bring abusers to account, but on that December day on the soccer field, he admits that he ‘came up short.’
When his ‘careless offhand’ comment made national headlines, sparking furious backlash on social media, Yeatman admits he was ‘completely blindsided’ and left feeling sick to his stomach.
‘I apologized for this at the time and take full responsibility for it today,’ Yeatman writes.