BREAKING: Ashton Kutcher Abruptly Resigns As Chairman of the Board

In news breaking this afternoon, Ashton Kutcher has abruptly resigned as Chairman of the Board of Thorn, an organization he co-founded.

Take a look:

NEW: Actor Ashton Kutcher resigns as Chairman of the Board of Thorn, an anti-child sex abuse organization he co-founded, after revelations he wrote a character letter in support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson.

Kutcher called it "an error in judgment" and apologized to all… pic.twitter.com/98YC2HlZk4

— Rachel Acenas (@RachelAcenas) September 15, 2023

Ashton Kutcher’s resignation letter to the anti-child-sex-abuse organization he co-founded in 2009, Thorn:

“Victims of sexual abuse have been historically silenced and the character statement I submitted is yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave… pic.twitter.com/n0B4UhiNNC

— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 15, 2023

Here are more details, from Time:

Ashton Kutcher has resigned as chairman of the board of Thorn, the anti-child-sex-abuse organization he co-founded in 2009 with his then-wife Demi Moore. His wife Mila Kunis, who served as an observer on the organization’s board, is also stepping down. The move comes in the wake of outrage over their letters of support for Danny Masterson, who has been convicted of raping two women.

“Victims of sexual abuse have been historically silenced and the character statement I submitted is yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave enough to share their experiences,” Kutcher wrote in a Sept. 14 letter to Thorn’s board, which was shared exclusively with TIME.

“After my wife and I spent several days of listening, personal reflection, learning, and conversations with survivors and the employees and leadership at Thorn, I have determined the responsible thing for me to do is resign as Chairman of the Board, effectively immediately,” Kutcher wrote. “I cannot allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve.”

ADVERTISEMENT

The actor also apologized to victims of sexual assault and other advocates for letting them down. “The mission must always be the priority and I want to offer my heartfelt apology to all victims of sexual violence and everyone at Thorn who I hurt by what I did,” he wrote to the board. “And to the broader advocacy community, I am deeply sorry. I remain proud of what we have accomplished in the past decade and will continue to support Thorn’s work. Thank you for your tireless advocacy and dedication to this cause.”

Ashton Kutcher has made the decision to step down from his role as board chair at Thorn, his organization dedicated to combatting child exploitation, following a wave of criticism stemming from his support letter of Danny Masterson. In a letter addressed to the Thorn community,… pic.twitter.com/gOaqK61FQQ

— Lauren (@LaurenRock) September 15, 2023

These “celebrities” sure are a piece of work, aren’t they?

Here’s more from Variety:

“Victims of sexual abuse have been historically silenced and the character statement I submitted is yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave enough to share their experiences,” Kutcher continued. “This is precisely what we have all worked to reverse over the last decade.”

“The mission must always be the priority and I want to offer my heartfelt apology to all victims of sexual violence and everyone at Thorn who I hurt by what I did,” he concluded. “And to the broader advocacy community, I am deeply sorry. I remain proud of what we have accomplished in the past decade and will continue to support Thorn’s work. Thank you for your tireless advocacy and dedication to this cause.”

Kutcher and Kunis were two of more than 50 people who wrote character letters to the judge in the Masterson sexual assault trial. Masterson was convicted of rape and sentenced to 30 years to life earlier this month. After the sentencing was announced, Kutcher and Kunis’ letters of support went public.

An excerpt from Kutcher’s letter reads: “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…”

In Kunis’ letter, she called Masterson an “amazing friend, confidant, and, above all, an outstanding older brother figure,” adding: “His genuine concern for those around him and his commitment to leading by example make him an outstanding role model and friend.”

And what in the world is this?

This comes on the heels of Kutcher and Kunis recording this very strange and awkward video last week:

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis Face Extreme Backlash For “Hostage Apology Video”

Talk about making it all about you and playing the victim.

These two are receiving extreme backlash after (1) writing letters to the Judge in the Danny Masterson rape trial defending their friend (spoiler alert: he was recently sentenced to 30 years in prison for rapes) and (2) playing the victim card by releasing what feels like a “hostage apology video”.

Memo to extremely out of touch Kutcher and Kunis: you are not the victims here.

Watch it here:

Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, who are involved in "fighting" human trafficking explain why they wrote letters supporting a Rapist to a judge. In hopes of letting a predator walk the streets… Are you awake yet ?#WeWantAnswers #AshtonKutcher #MilaKunis #DannyMasterson pic.twitter.com/T8R8PNoggk

— Isaac’s Army (@ReturnOfKappy) September 10, 2023

And aren’t these two supposed to be actors?

My take?

Not very good acting.

Kunis looks PISSED instead of remorseful and Kutcher just looks out of touch or drugged or something:

Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis face extreme backlash over their support of convicted rapist, try to do damage control with this video.

They are trying to look vulnerable and apologetic, but to me Kunis just looks pissed. Body language doesn't lie. She's pissed she even has to… pic.twitter.com/cCtlQ9U6md

— Noah Christopher (@DailyNoahNews) September 10, 2023

These two appear to be a real piece of work and then you have Masterson now convicted of rape.

What a cast!

Remember when Topher Grace was dragged through the mud for “not wanting to hang out with the rest of the cast?”

Well, this Tweet sums it up nicely:

Finding out Topher Grace was always given shit for not wanting to hang out with the rest of the cast outside of filming is kind of assuring to me that he might actually be a relatively decent person lol. https://t.co/ZggeN5hoFR

— Mitchard Linklater (@fleMitchfilm) September 8, 2023

Liz Crokin hit Kutcher and Kunis hard:

FAKE ANTI-SEX TRAFFICKING ADVOCATE ASHTON KUTCHER DEFENDS RAPIST PAL DANNY MASTERSON!

Ashton Kutcher wrote a positive pre-sentencing hearing letter for his convicted rapist friend Danny Masterson in an attempt to get him a light sentence.

He called him “extraordinarily honest”… pic.twitter.com/bjrxp7Sht5

— LIZ CROKIN (@LizCrokin) September 8, 2023

And you need to see this:

https://twitter.com/kvvyle_/status/1700879483023036887

From AmericanWire:

In what has to be the most self-serving, passive-aggressive celebrity apology yet, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have posted a joint mea culpa for “character letters” they wrote on behalf of former “That ’70s Show” co-star and convicted double-rapist Danny Masterson.

Looking as though they were yanked out of their bed at 3 a.m. by the Cancel Carabinieri and marched in front of the camera, the disheveled duo explained that they feel the pain of rape victims and were only trying to help “Danny’s family” when they wrote character letters for the guy they “knew for 25 years” to influence his sentencing with the judge.

Their apology may have been more effective if it didn’t look like “hostage videos,” as independent journalist Kyle Becker characterized their production.

“We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson,” Kutcher, 45, began.

“We support victims,” chimed in Kunis, 40, right on cue. “We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future.”

Meanwhile, John Nolte at Breitbart has the opposite opinion, saying Kunis and Kutcher did nothing wrong:

Another day, another hostage video with celebrities apologizing for no reason. In this case, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, the married former co-stars of That 70’s Show, apologized for standing by a friend with a character letter written to a judge before that friend was sentenced for rape.

Late last week, actor Danny Masterson received a 30-year-to-life sentence for raping two women some 20 years ago. Masterson is best known for co-starring with Kutcher and Kunis in That 70’s Show, which aired on Fox from 1998 to 2006. In 2016, Masterson and Kutcher reunited for The Ranch, a Netflix comedy. Masterson left that show the following year when news of the rape investigation broke.

Masterson has maintained his innocence throughout the six-year scandal. He says the sex was consensual. No physical evidence was presented. Masterson was convicted largely on the testimony of the victims. There was a third woman, a former girlfriend, who accused Masterson of rape. The jury split 8 to 4 on that one, and Masterson was not convicted.

Knowing all this, let me be as clear as I can…. If Masterson were my friend, I would have no problem writing a character letter on his behalf.

If I were Masterson’s friend, here is what I’d think…. First, I have a problem with the court allowing Masterson to be prosecuted for three women at once. That’s as prejudicial as it gets. Each case should stand on its own merit without the piling-on effect. Three women accused the defendant of the same thing is not evidence. Second, there was no physical evidence of the rape or that the women were drugged prior to the rape. Third, Masterson says he’s innocent. Fourth, this #MeToo era has resulted in a pile of injustice unseen since the McCarthy era. Fifth, the guy has been a friend for 25 years.

Listen, even if they have done something terrible, there is nothing wrong with standing by family and friends. In fact, I would go so far as to declare that an honorable act. You don’t gain anything standing by someone like that. There’s no upside. Only downside. All it does is complicate your life. It is easiest to write them off, delete them, and go on like they don’t exist. Good people don’t write off human beings.

What’s more, by all accounts, the letter Kutcher and Kunis wrote in no way questioned the verdict or undermined the victims. They don’t know what happened, so they stuck to what they do know. Nowhere in the letter does it say something like, “The guy we knew would never do something like this.” They only told the truth about a friend who says he’s innocent.

Where is the harm in telling the truth?

What do you think?