The blowback continues to take its course for Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, who have received a wide range of backlash after writing character letters in support of their friend, Danny Masterson – who was recently sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty of raping two women in 2003.
On Thursday (September 14), Kutcher wrote a letter to the board of Thorn – a company he founded in 2009 with his then-wife, Demi Moore. Up until Thursday, Kutcher served as chairman of the board and Kunis served as an observer of the board. The letter announced their resignation from those positions.
“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,” he wrote in the letter (shared by TIME).
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He went on to add that he ‘cannot allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve.’ For those who don’t know, Thorn is ‘an international anti-human trafficking organization that works to address the sexual exploitation of children.’ Despite resigning, he will still support their mission.
“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. This is precisely what we have all worked to reverse over the last decade,” he continued in the resignation letter.
Ashton Kutcher also sent a ‘heartfelt apology’ to all the victims of sexual abuse and anyone else who was hurt or offended by his and his wife’s letter supporting Danny Masterson. That letter – along with letters from other That 70s Show and The Ranch alums – was made public after Masterson’s sentence went viral.
In the letter, Kutcher praised Masterson for being ‘an extraordinarily honest and intentional human being’ who ‘always treated people with decency, equality, and generosity.’ Kutcher and Kunis tried to minimize the damage with a video apology, but the damage was already done and the video only made it worse.
Ashton Kutcher at the Center of a Lot of Controversy
Ashton Kutcher has been receiving a lot of heat lately and it has been coming from every direction. Just a few days ago, Sharon Osbourne called him the ‘rudest’ celebrity she had ever met and even called him a ‘dastardly little thing’ during an interview with E! News – a sentiment she originally shared in 2018.
It was also just a few days ago that an animated series featuring Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis – called Stoner Cats – was fined $1 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for misleading investors who bought more than 10,000 NFTs (which ultimately helped fund the animated series).
Despite all the backlash he and his wife have received over the past few weeks, it’s important to highlight all the good he has done through Thorn. For nearly 15 years, the company has defended children from sexual abuse with the use of technology – which is used by law enforcement and other tech companies.
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In 2017, he testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and spoke about some of the horrors he has witnessed through his work with Thorn. It was just last year that he ran the New York City marathon to raise more than $1 million for Thorn – money that was used to empower their mission.