Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis apologized on Saturday (Sep. 09, 2023) for the letters they wrote on behalf of their fellow That ‘70s Show actor Danny Masterson prior to his sentencing last week.
Kutcher and Kunis posted a video on Instagram Saturday addressing the character letters they wrote that became public, and they apologized for the pain it caused, The Associated Press reported.
“We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson,” Kutcher said in the video, according to Variety. The letters were made public on Friday (Sep. 08, 2023).
“Danny takes his job seriously. He is kind, courteous, and hard working. He treated everyone from the grips to the teamsters to the actors to the caterers as equals. As a role model, Danny has consistently been an excellent one…” an excerpt from Kutcher’s letter read, according to Variety.
Kunis called Masterson an “amazing friend, confidant, and, above all, an outstanding older brother figure,” in her letter.
The letters, Kutcher says, were intended for the judge to read and asked for leniency in the sentencing. Kutcher said they were “not to undermine the testimony of the victims or retraumatize them in any way. We would never want to do that and we’re sorry if that has taken place.”
“We support victims. We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future,” Kunis said.
“Our heart goes out to every single person who’s ever been a victim of sexual assault, sexual abuse or rape,” Kunis said at the end of the video.
Kutcher said that Masterson’s family reached out to them after Masterson was convicted in May and asked for them to write character letters on his behalf.
The couple were two of 50 people who the judge on behalf of Masterson before his sentencing.
Masterson was sentenced Thursday in Los Angeles to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women back in 2003.
Masterson starred in That ‘70s Show from 1998 until 2006 with Kutcher, Kunis, Lauren Prepon, Wilmer Valderrama, and Topher Grace. Masterson appeared in The Ranch alongside Kutcher in 2016 on Netflix but was eventually written off the show due to the investigation by the Los Angeles Police Department.
