While Ashton Kutcher has long been a beloved Hollywood star, his career hasn’t been without controversy. Known for frequently supporting contentious figures, Kutcher recently faced criticism over his close friendship with disgraced hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs.
One of the controversies surrounding the actor dates back over a decade when Kutcher publicly defended Joe Paterno after he was fired as the Penn State Nittany Lions coach as a result of a child s*x abuse scandal.
Ashton Kutcher Faced Backlash for Defending Joe Paterno Amid Penn State Abuse Scandal
Ashton Kutcher found himself amid a major controversy after he defended the firing of the Penn State Nittany Lions’ former coach Joe Paterno amid the Penn State child s*x abuse scandal.
Paterno, who had coached at Penn State from 1966 to 2011, was dismissed following the revelation that former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky had s*xually abused young boys over many years. It was later alleged that key figures, including Paterno, failed to report the abuse to authorities.
However, Kutcher, who later claimed that he was unaware of the full details, took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his disapproval of Paterno’s firing. “How do you fire Jo Pa? #insult #noclass as a hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste,” The Butterfly Effect star said in his since-deleted tweet, as per People.
However, upon learning more, he quickly deleted the tweet and posted another one saying, “Heard Joe was fired, fully recant previous tweet! — Didn’t have full story.” It was followed up with additional tweets.
As an advocate in the fight against child s*xual exploitation, I could not be more remorseful for all involved in the Penn St. case.
As of immediately I will stop tweeting until I find a way to properly manage this feed. I feel awful about this error. Won’t happen again.
Kutcher defending Joe Paterno, who was later alleged to have known about Sandusky’s abuse, and dismissing a victim’s complaint, sparked widespread backlash, with many criticizing the actor for his stance.
Yet, Kutcher seemed to be drawn to controversy, as years later, he found himself in a similar situation when he and his wife, Mila Kunis, wrote character letters supporting convicted r*pist Danny Masterson.
Ashton Kutcher And His Wife Apologized to Their That ’70s Show Co-Star’s Victims
In 2023, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis had written character letters for their That ’70s Show co-star Danny Masterson, who was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for r*ping two women.
In his letter, Kutcher described Masterson as a “role model,” with “exceptional character,” while Kunis called him an “exceptional older brother figure.” The revelation sparked significant backlash, with many criticizing the two stars for supporting their convicted co-star.
The couple later shared an apology video for their letters on Instagram, explaining that the letters were written at Masterson’s family’s request after his conviction in May, to reflect on “the person that we knew for 25 years.”
Kunis further stated,
The letters were not written to question the legitimacy of the judicial system or the validity of the jury’s ruling — We support victims. We have done this historically through work and will continue to do so in the future.
They further expressed for inadvertently retraumatizing victims and emphasized that they never intended to “undermine the testimony of the victims.” Following the backlash and their apology, Kutcher resigned from his position as board chairman of Thorn, a nonprofit he co-founded over a decade ago to fight child s*xual exploitation.
