Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis previously starred in That ’70s Show alongside recently-convicted rapist Danny Masterson. Now the two are facing backlash for having sent letters of support to a judge after he was found guilty of raping two women.
As noted by the AP news agency via the BBC, Kutcher sent a letter, dated July 27, “to Los Angeles Superior Court judge Charlaine F Olmedo,” and “described Masterson as a man who treated people ‘with decency, equality, and generosity.'” Mila Kunis sent an additional letter which described Masterson as “an outstanding role model and friend” as well as an “exceptional older brother figure.”
Now, over the weekend, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have responded to the backlash that their letters generated. Kutcher shared an Instagram post where he and Kunis apologized for their letters and that they didn’t want to undermine any of the victims:
“We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson.
“A couple of months ago, Danny’s family reached out to us, and they asked us to write character letters to represent the person that we knew for 25 years, so that the judge could take that into full consideration relative to the sentencing.
“They were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or retraumatise them in any way. We would never want to do that and we’re sorry if that has taken place.”
Kunis added:
“We support victims. We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future… The letters were not written to question the legitimacy of the judicial system, or the validity of the jury’s ruling.
“Our heart goes out to every single person who’s ever been a victim of sexual assault, sexual abuse or rape.”
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In spite of the apology video, however, the two are still facing backlash. Jane Doe #1 from the trial against Danny Masterson released a response via X user @yashar to state the following:
“‘This video was incredibly insulting and hurtful. My hope is that they learn radical accountability and the importance of self-education to learn when to keep their privilege in check—especially Ashton, who claims to work with victims of sex crimes. And as to Mila, I can only think of ‘Times Up.'”
Jane Doe #1 aka Jen B, one of the women Danny Masterson was convicted of raping, just texted me her reaction to Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ video:
“This video was incredibly insulting and hurtful. My hope is that they learn radical accountability and the importance of… https://t.co/2S9IwA6n5k
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) September 9, 2023
Danny Masterson has been sentenced 30 years to life for the rape of two women over twenty years ago at his Hollywood Hills home. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we may have them.