It's the latest sexual assault case to hit Hollywood. Last week, US actor Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women in 2003.
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, who starred alongside Masterson in That 70s Show, were two of more than 50 people who wrote to the judge to support the actor ahead of his sentencing. The letters, in which Ashton referenced Masterson as his ‘role model’ and commended his ‘exceptional character’, were posted online by The Hollywood Reporter and other digital publications. The couple have since apologised after the letters sparked backlash online.
‘We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson,’ Ashton says in the apology video posted to his Instagram on Saturday. ‘We support victims. We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future,’ adds Mila, who is sat by her husband in the video.
Ashton explains how Masterson’s family reached out to him and Mila to write character letters to ‘represent the person that we knew for 25 years.’
‘The letters were not written to question the legitimacy of the judicial system, or the validity of the jury’s ruling,’ says Mila. ‘They were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or re-traumatise them in any way,’ Ashton adds. ‘We would never want to do that, and we’re sorry if that has taken place.’ The video ends with Mila saying, ‘Our heart goes out to every single person who’s ever been a victim of sexual assault, sexual abuse or rape.’
However, the couple’s apology has sparked backlash online from the survivors of Masterson's abuse and fellow celebrities. Chrissie Carnell Bixler, one of Masterson’s victims, condemned the couple in an Instagram story.
'In my opinion, you’re just as sick as your "mentor,"' she wrote of Ashton. Another woman who came forward against Danny Masterson called the apology video ‘incredibly insulting and hurtful.’ Identified as Jane Doe number one, she sent a text message to Huffington Post journalist Bashar Ali detailing her response to the couple's video. ‘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,’ she wrote in the text, which Ali shared on Twitter. ‘And as to Mila, I can only think of “Times Up.”’
Meanwhile, Addams Family actress Christina Ricci shared a statement on Instagram, which many have interpreted as a comment on Ashton and Mila's support letters. ‘So sometimes people we have loved and admired do horrible things. They might not do these things to us and we only know who they were to us but that doesn't mean they didn't do the horrible things and to discredit the abused is a crime,' she wrote, continuing 'People we know as 'awesome guys' can be predators and abusers. It's tough to accept but we have to. If we say we support victims - women, children, men, boys - then we must be able to take this stance.’
The apology has also sparked debate among social media users, with many people commenting on the couple's body language in the video. One user, on watching the video, wrote ‘This is the most insincere apology I’ve ever seen. At least Ashton tried to make it look like he wasn’t reading it off a cue card. Mila on the other hand - take an acting class.’
Yet the couple’s apology isn’t the only video sparking debate. Right now, there is increased search for ‘Mila Kunis old interviews’ on Google after a clip resurfaced from an episode of The Rosie O’Donnell show that aired in April 2002. The video appears to show appears to show Ashton discussing a bet he made with Danny over kissing a then-teenage Mila Kunis.
In the clip, Mila laughs and says ‘You made a bet with Danny about my first kiss. I had never kissed a guy. I was a 14-year-old little girl. I was scared for my life.’ She continues ‘Danny goes I'll give you $10 if you French kiss her. We had a little side bet going. So Danny bets me like 20 bucks I wouldn't do it.' Rosie O'Donnell later jokes about calling the police, to which Mila seems to agree.
That’s not the only questionable video to make an appearance. A clip circulating on Twitter shows Ashton, then 25, making a comment about a young Hilary Duff in a 2003 episode of his show Punk’d. 'Hilary Duff is in Lizzie McGuire, she also has an album out. She’s going to be in a movie called Cheaper by the Dozen. And she’s one of the girls that we’re all waiting for to turn 18. Along with the Olsen twins,' he says. Hilary was just 15 at the time of the video, while Mary-Kate and Ashley would have been 17.
Prosecutors in Danny's trial alleged he used his prominence in the Church of Scientology - where all three women in the case were reportedly members at the time - to avoid consequences for decades after the attacks. The internet is now rife with speculation about whether Ashton himself was involved with the church. There’s search for ‘Ashton Kutcher scientologist' on Google, and Twitter is filled with people sharing their opinions. It’s important to stress that this is all apparently baseless speculation, and Ashton has not publicly identified as a scientologist.
Of course, it’s inevitable that celebrity drama will capture the attention of the internet. Platforms like Twitter and TikTok thrive on rumours and speculation and, as the resurfaced videos of Ashton show, there’s no hiding from the ghosts of the past on social media. But we can’t forget that at the centre of this story are real women whose lives have been damaged by Danny Masterson's abuse.
Statistics from Rape Crisis England and Wales show that 5 in 6 women who are raped don’t report – and the same is true for 4 in 5 men. Of these, 40% said the reason was ‘embarrassment’, 38% said they didn’t think the police could help and 34% said they thought it would be humiliating. As the charity acknowledges, lots of these survivors tell someone else what happened. Given these statistics, we can only imagine how difficult it must have been for these women to come forward and testify against a powerful Hollywood predator like Danny Masterson.
'I don’t regret it,' said a victim identified as Jane Doe two in court, when speaking about the harassment she suffered after coming forward about the abuse. 'You disfigured my life. You stole some crucial pieces of my self-worth and lessened my capacity for joy. You made every part of me turn on myself.'
As Jane Doe two's heartbreaking statement shows, the stories of these women are real and deserve to be treated with respect - despite all the celebrity drama surrounding them. While the resurfaced videos will fade, and the speculation around Ashton will move on, Danny Masterson's victims are forced to live with the impact of his abuse forever.
Who is Danny Masterson?
Danny Masterson, 46, is an American actor best known for his role as Steven Hyde on That '70s Show, which aired between 1998 and 2006. He was convicted on two of three charges of forcible rape back in May 2023, with the sentencing delivered at a Los Angeles court on Thursday 7th September.
Danny's wife, actress and model Bijou Phillips, teared up in court when the verdict was delivered. The couple met at a poker tournament in Las Vegas in 2004, and got married in October 2011. They share a daughter, Fianna, who was born in February 2014. Both Bijou and Danny are members of the Church of Scientology, a religion that was founded in the 1950s by L Ron Hubbard.
She and Danny began dating in 2004 after meeting at a poker tournament in Las Vegas. They got married in October 2011 and welcomed their daughter Fianna in February 2014. Danny was bought up in the Church of Scientology, and his wife is also a member.
In an interview with Paper Magazine in 2015, Masterson opened up about his upbringing in the Church of Scientology, how it has impacted his life, and how he chooses to continue practicing the religion. 'In Scientology, there’s no belief system or anyone who’s worshipped or whatnot; it’s all sort of like college of the mind,” he told the publication. “And so I grew up not having to go and pray to anyone. I grew up just sort of like, "Oh, if you’re thirsty, drink water."'