Credit: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock
Ashton Kutcher
Kutcher was once starring alongside Masterson and serving as an executive manufacturer of The Ranch when the Men at Work alum used to be fired from the display in December 2017.
“As a results of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the manufacturers have written Danny Masterson out of The Ranch. [December 4, 2017] was once his remaining day on the display, and production will resume in early 2018 without him,” Netflix said in a remark at the time.
Kutcher, for his part, addressed the allegations for the first time right through a January 2023 interview with Esquire.
“Ultimately, I will’t know. I’m no longer the judge. I’m no longer the jury. I’m no longer the DA. I’m now not the sufferer. And I’m not the accused. And so, in that case, I don’t have a space to remark. I just don’t know," he told the outlet, adding that he hopes Masterson will “be found innocent of the charges brought against him.”
The Just Married actor, who noted he is still in touch with his former costar, emphasized that he stands with victims of sexual abuse. “I wholesale feel for anybody who feels like they were violated in any way,” he said.
The Two and a Half Men alum went on to express empathy for Masterson's daughter, Fianna, whom he shares with wife Bijou Phillips: “Someday, his kid is going to read about this."
He and spouse Mila Kunis wrote character reference letters on Masterson's behalf in 2023 after he was convicted on two counts of rape. The notes sparked backlash the next September after Masterson was once sentenced.
Kutcher explained that the letters had been written on the request of Masterson’s family. “A few months ago, Danny and his family reached out to us, and so they requested us to write down personality letters to constitute the person who we knew for 25 years so that the pass judgement on may take that into full consideration, relative to the sentencing,” he said in an Instagram video with Kunis.
“They had been supposed for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the sufferers or re-traumatize them in any way,” Kutcher stated. “We would by no means need to do that, and we’re sorry if that has taken position.”
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tr%2FMmp6aspmjsm%2BvzqZmnJ2cmq%2BztdOyZKedp6h8sbXCrayrnaNksaK6zbJkppmjqbKzv86nZKuZoJp6orjLnp6arJmku7R506GYrWVnZcBuv8eormabkajBbr7EmpqtoZ%2BjwHA%3D