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Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis found themselves in the midst of controversy after voicing their support for actor Danny Masterson after he was sentenced to 30 years in prison. Masterson was reportedly found guilty of r*ping two women, who were both members of the Church of Scientology, as per BBC. Danny and his brother Christopher Masterson were practitioners of Scientology as well.
Ahead of Danny's sentencing, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis wrote two separate character letters to the judge, calling him a "role model" and a "brother figure," as per CBS News. When they received massive backlash for the same, the couple posted a video apologizing for the contents of the letters.
However, the apology video didn't bode well with netizens. They bashed the couple for the same as they took to the comments section of Pop Base's tweet.
"Ashton Kutcher is scarier than we know" - Netizens react as couple apologizes for character letters
Actors Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, and Danny Masterson have been close ever since they met on the sets of That '70s Show. After Masterson was sentenced to prison for r*ping two women, his friends Kutcher and Kunis (who have been married since 2015) composed individual character letters as they sided with him.
However, soon after these letters came to light, netizens slammed the duo for seemingly supporting a convicted r*pist. The couple faced massive backlash online and soon shared an apology video.
"We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that 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," they said.
They continued:
"The letters were not written to question the legitimacy of the judicial system, or the validity of the jury’s ruling. They were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or re-traumatize them in any way. We would never want to do that, and we’re sorry if that has taken place."
However, netizens continued to criticize them as they took to social media to share their thoughts on the same. Many believed that the couple was unsincere with their apology and even said that they only shared the video because their publicist forced them to do so.
The couple shared the apology video after Ashton Kutcher penned a character letter, in which he mentioned that Danny Masterson was an amazing "role model" and thanked him for saving him from doing drugs.
"Any time that we were to meet someone or interact with someone who was on drugs, or did drugs, he made it clear that that wouldn’t be a good person to be friends with," he said, as per The Hollywood Reporter.
Kunis too thanked him for being an "exceptional older brother figure" and spoke about how he shielded her from drugs as well.
"Danny’s steadfastness in promoting a drug-free lifestyle has been a guiding light in my journey through the entertainment world and has helped me prioritize my well-being and focus on making responsible choices," she said.
As per Variety, Masterson, 47, has been sentenced to 30 years to life in prison and will be eligible to appeal for parole only when he is 77 years old.
