The couple of actors had given their testimony in favor of the actor, today sentenced to 30 years in prison.
After the confirmation of Danny Masterson's conviction for r-pe in two of the three complaints, the acting couple, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, came out in a video to apologize publicly after having defended their friend.
The controversy arose after it was news that both Kutcher and Kunis, Debra Jo Rupp, and Kurtwood Smith were some of those who sent letters to the judge in the case testifying in favor of the man now sentenced to 30 years in prison.
"We are aware of the pain this has caused, based on what we wrote in those letters in support of Danny Masterson," Ashton Kutcher began. His wife then said, "We stand with victims. We have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future."
Kutcher was Masterson's co-star on That 70s Show, and was also part of the cast in the Netflix reboot, That 90s Show. In the video, he added: "A few months ago, Danny's family approached us and asked us to write some letters so that we could tell the person we thought we had known for 25 years so that the judge could have relevance when it came to issuing the sentence", however, he was in charge of clarifying that "we did not do it to question the legitimacy of the trial or the validity of what the jury decided, but rather it seemed to us that it was important that it also take this into account, without imposing it on the testimony of the victims.
Closing out his part, Kutcher said that "our hearts go out to every person who has been the victim of r*pe, abuse or s- violence." Something that did not go hand in hand with what was previously written in the letter, in which he stated that Masterson was nothing more than "a positive influence" and that "throughout our 25-year relationship I never had to warn him about any lies" . In closing, she wrote that she hoped her "testimony about the person would be considered at the time of sentencing. I do not believe she is a dangerous person to society and having her daughter raised without a father present would be an injustice."
Kunis used similar words and focused on his personal experience with the actor, with whom he also shared a cast in the acclaimed series. In the writings they did not make direct reference to the events, which in the end ended with a 30-year sentence for acts committed between 2001 and 2003, still awaiting the jury's decision on a third complaint that could lead to a life sentence for the actor.
