Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis apologise for Danny Masterson support letters
The celebrity couple have been receiving backlash for supporting their 'That '70s Show' co-star ahead of his sentencing.
Ashton Kutcher and his wife Mila Kunis have apologised for "the pain that has been caused by the character letters" they wrote in support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson.
The couple appeared on the popular sitcom, 'That '70s Show', alongside Danny, Laura Prepon, Topher Grace, and Wilmer Valderrama.
Danny was sentenced to 30 years in prison last week for raping two women between 2001 and 2003. Before the sentencing, the actor's family and friends were allowed to submit letters to the judge.
According to The Law Dictionary, "family members or friends will write a letter to a judge before sentencing, to illustrate a defendant's character". These letters could result in the defendant's sentence being reduced.
The family members of victims can also write letters calling for the maximum sentence.
Ashton and Mila described Danny as being a consistently excellent role model. "I attribute not falling into the typical Hollywood life of drugs directly to Danny," Ashton wrote, according to TODAY.
Debra Jo Rupp, who played Kitty Forman, on 'That '70s Show' and Kurtwood Smith, who played Red Forman, also wrote letters of support.
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Ashton and Mila received major backlash for their letters, with some calling it a slap in the face for victims of sexual abuse.
Others said they were shocked that Ashton, co-founder of Thorn - a company that builds technology that helps fight child sex trafficking, would support Danny.
Ashton and Mila have since released an apology video that explains why they chose to support Danny.
"A couple of months ago, Danny's family reached out to us, and they asked us to write character letters to represent the person that we knew for 25 years so that the judge could take that into full consideration relative to the sentencing," Ashton said.
Mila added: "The letters were not written to question the legitimacy of the judicial system or the validity of the jury’s ruling."
She also stressed that they support victims of sexual abuse. "We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future."
Watch their full apology video below.
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Main image credit: Instagram/@aplusk
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