Ashton Kutcher "lucky to be alive" after vasculitis diagnosis

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Ashton Kutcher discusses Danny Masterson sexual assault allegations

Wed 1 February 2023 9:11, UK

That ’70s Show star Ashton Kutcher discussed the current trial of his former co-star Danny Masterson amid claims of sexual assault. Having worked together on the sitcom, the two actors formed an off-screen friendship before again collaborating on the Netflix production The Ranch.

Masterson was charged with three counts of sexual assault in June 2020, with alleged incidents occurring between 2001 and 2003. In 2022, the actor’s court case ended in a mistrial, and he will now face a subsequent trial. The actor was first accused of sexual assault in 2017 and was written out of The Ranch’s third season, with co-star Kutcher carrying on until the final season.

During a recent interview with Esquire, Kutcher explained that he wants Masterson “to be found innocent on the charges brought against him,” having cited the accused as a mentor throughout his career and hoping the accusations are false. However, the interview does state that Kutcher genuinely hopes Masterson didn’t commit the crimes rather than simply escape punishment. “Ultimately, I can’t know,” Kutcher continued. “I’m not the judge. I’m not the jury. I’m not the DA. I’m not the victim. And I’m not the accused. And so, in that case, I don’t have a space to comment. I just don’t know.”

The star then recalls how Masterson kept him away from drugs and other harmful outlets while working on Fox’s That ’70s Show. “He’s like, ‘One fucking rule: Don’t do anything fucking stupid and fuck this up. Because if you fuck it up, you fuck it up for everybody,'” Kutcher said.

Taking Masterson’s child into account, Kutcher added: “Someday, his kid is going to read about this”. However, the actor then voices his support of abuse victims, saying: “I wholesale feel for anybody who feels like they were violated in any way.”

During the same interview, Kutcher also discussed his public divorce from ex-wife, actor Demi Moore, and the miscarriage she suffered during their marriage. “Losing a kid that you think you’re going to have, and that close to thinking you’re going to have a kid, is really, really painful,” he said.

“Nothing makes you feel like a failure like divorce,” Kutcher added. “Divorce feels like a wholesale fucking failure. You failed at marriage.”