The sexual assault case against Danny Masterson ended with him getting 30 years in prison. But the storm Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis kickstarted with their ill-witted involvement in the case continues to gather more negative traction. At this point, anything Kutcher says or does will not do him any favors, but it is easy to see exactly why resigning from the anti-abuse group he co-founded while bravely calling his letter a simple “error in judgment” is not sitting well with the masses.
What started with the revelation that the couple had written glowing letters of support for their former co-star (who is now a convicted rapist) escalated with a rather poorly phrased apology video by the duo. The ongoing backlash against the letter and the video has pushed Kutcher to step down from Thorn, the anti-child sexual abuse organization he co-founded with his ex-wife, Demi Moore.
In his statement, the actor explained how he can’t “allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve.” His decision to not let the organization bear the brunt of his actions is justified, but what many can’t wrap their head around is his blaming the attempt to minimize the magnitude of the crimes Masterson committed, painting him as a “role model,” and disregarding the trauma the sexual assault victims went through on poor judgment.
In a Reddit post, which continues to get longer, it is impossible to not remember that Kutcher has campaigned and worked towards empowering sexual abuse victims for years, and yet, here he is, attempting to write off his words in Masterson’s favor as an oversight.
Kutcher labeling the letter a bad judgment call has reminded a few of his character Michael Kelso in That ‘70s Show because supporting an individual who has already been found guilty of the crimes he had been accused of is not a decision one takes without thinking it thoroughly.
Many in the thread also tried to defend the actor’s choice. But whether it was truly an “error in judgment,” an attempt to protect his friend as justified by a few in the comments, or a bid to find Masterson some leniency for the sake of his family, Kutcher is going to find it difficult to explain how despite working for more than a decade to raise awareness against sexual exploitation of children, he failed to factor in the years of trauma the sexual assault victims in the Danny Masterson case went through.