Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis wrote letters asking for leniency in the sentencing of their That '70s Show castmate Danny Masterson. Photos / AP
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis wrote letters asking for leniency in the sentencing of their That '70s Show castmate Danny Masterson. Photos / AP
Danny Masterson’s That ‘70s Show co-stars Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher reportedly wrote letters calling for a lenient sentence for the convicted rapist during his trial.
More than 50 people submitted letters on behalf of Masterson before his sentencing this week, reports Good Morning America.
Masterson, 47, wassentenced to 30 years to life in prison after his retrial for raping two women on separate instances between 2001 and 2003, when he starred on That ‘70s Show.
Now it’s been revealed that his co-stars Kutcher and Kunis called him a “role model” with “exceptional character”.
Copies of the letters seen by journalist Tony Ortega reveal that Kutcher called Masterson a “dedicated co-worker” during their time on the show together, which began in 1998. Kutcher attributed his “not falling into the typical Hollywood life of drugs directly to Danny.”
He added that while “the victims have a great desire for justice, I hope that my testament to his character is taken into consideration in sentencing.”
Kutcher believed Masterson did not pose an ongoing threat to society and that leaving his daughter without a father would be a “tertiary injustice in and of itself”.
Meanwhile, Kutcher’s wife Kunis spoke of Masterson’s “tremendous positive influence he has had on me and the people around him” and praised his parenting skills.
Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Danny Masterson starred together on That '70s Show. Photo / Getty Images
Their That ‘70s Show co-stars Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith also sent letters to the judge, with Rupp writing that the charges were “so hard” for her to get her head around as she had always known him as “respectful and kind”.
In Smith’s opinion, Masterson “treated all women on the show with respect, not only the women in the cast, but women on the crew as well.”
Good Morning America reports that during his trial one of Masterson’s victims, Niesha Trout, gave a statement saying, “When you raped me, you stole from me. That’s what rape is, a theft of the spirit.”
Ashton Kutcher's letter to the judge who sentenced Danny Masterson for rape:
"We have spent countless hours together with our kids and he is among few people that I would trust to be alone with my son and daughter."
Trout, who also identified herself as a victim in the case on X - formerly Twitter - spoke out about Kutcher and Kunis’ letters on the social media platform.
“The letters will be leaked soon, but I want you all to know that post Danny Masterson’s conviction & after they read all of the gruesome sworn-under-oath testimony of 5 of Danny’s victims, Ashton Kutcher & Mila Kunis submitted letters to the judge asking her for leniency on Danny,” she wrote.
It’s not the first time Kutcher has shared his support for his former co-star since the trial began.
He has stayed friends with Masterson since their days on That ‘70s Show, with the pair most recently appearing in Netflix series The Ranch. Masterson left the show when the rape allegations surfaced in 2017.
In February, just months before Masterson was found guilty of rape, Kutcher told Esquire, “I don’t want him to elude the law, but I wish for the truth to show he’s innocent.”
He went on, “I can’t know … I’m not the judge, the jury, the DA, the victim, or the accused. I’m in no position to comment. I genuinely don’t know.”
