Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have released an apology after receiving backlash for writing character letters on behalf of their That ’70s Show co-star, Danny Masterson.
That 70’s Show actor Danny Masterson has been sentenced to 30 years in prison after being convicted earlier this year of raping two women. Masterson was first accused in 2017 and has remained adamant that the encounters were consensual, his defense lawyers planning to appeal the convictions.
Nonetheless, a judge told Masterson that “One way or another you will have to come to terms with your prior actions and their consequences.” With the disgraced actor behind bars, two of his old costars have been feeling the heat after their character letters in support of Masterson were made public.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have now both issued an apology for their letters, taking to Instagram to address the situation.
The pair posted a video together, Kutcher starting the apology by saying, “We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson.”
“We support victims. We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future,” Kunis added. Kutcher then explained that the Masterson family had reached out to the couple and asked them to write letters representing the person that they “knew for 25 years.”
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“They were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or re-traumatize them in any way,” Kutcher said. “We would never want to do that. And we’re sorry if that has taken place.”
However, their apology video has not been well received as unimpressed viewers flocked to Twitter to share their outrage.
ashton kutcher and mila kunis admit that they were trying to protect a rapist from getting a harsh sentencing. Honestly we don’t want you to do any more work. Anything they do going forward is just apart of an agenda. Please crawl into a hole and stay pic.twitter.com/3YyQrMPux3
— Mad Beefs (@MadBeefs) September 9, 2023
“It’s giving scripted. It’s giving rehearsed. It’s giving ‘oh shit, we were caught!’” one person wrote, with another stating, “They aren’t really apologizing for defending him, they’re just sorry it came out and lead to a backlash.”
It certainly doesn’t look like these two will be in the clear anytime soon. Check out all the latest entertainment news on our page here.