Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
After Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis publicly apologized for initially supporting their former That ’70s Show co-star Danny Masterson, who was convicted on two counts of rape, Kutcher is stepping down from Thorn, the anti-child sex abuse organization he co-founded with ex-wife Demi Moore. Kunis is also stepping down from her role at Thorn, where she served on the board as an observer.
Kutcher had been serving as the chairman of the board of Thorn, but acknowledged the conflict involved in the support he had provided to a convicted rapist. He apologized again in a letter to Thorn’s leadership as well as victims of sexual abuse that was shared with Belinda Luscomb at Time:
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.
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. I cannot allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve.
The mission must always be the priority and I want to offer my heartfelt apology to all victims of sexual violence and everyone at Thorn who I hurt by what I did. And to the broader advocacy community, I am deeply sorry. I remain proud of what we have accomplished in the past decade and will continue to support Thorn’s work. Thank you for your tireless advocacy and dedication to this cause.
Kutcher and Kunis had each provided a letter of support for Masterson during the sentencing phase of the trial, after he was convicted. Kutcher wrote, in part, that “As a friend, Danny has been nothing but a positive influence on me. He’s an extraordinarily honest and intentional human being. Over 25 year relationship I don’t ever recall him lying to me. He’s taught me about being direct and confronting issues in life and relationships head-on, resolving them, and moving forward.” Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life for his crimes.
Yashar Ali, who has been covering the trial as well as other stories involving the Church of Scientology (of which Masterson is a member), pointed out on Twitter that Kutcher declined to apologize to Masterson’s victims specifically or for “undermining a key part of their testimony.”
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