Ashton Kutcher is facing backlash for more than just his support of Danny Masterson. A clip from a 2003 episode of Punk’d has since resurfaced online and Kutcher could be heard making a rather vulgar comment about Hilary Duff — who was 15 at the time.
“Hilary Duff is in Lizzie McGuire, she also has an album out. She’s going to be in a movie called Cheaper by the Dozen,” Kutcher, now 45, said at the time. “And she’s one of the girls that we’re all waiting for to turn 18. Along with the Olsen twins.”
The video has since gone viral on X (formerly known as Twitter) with the original poster referring to Kutcher as “a slime ball.” Other social media users have since weighed in.
“I’ve seen a lot of dismaying news about Ashton Kutcher in the last 24 hours,” one reply read. “I’m actually disappointed.”
A second person added, “Ugh! Who else remembers how unapologetically creepy dudes were about girls ‘finally turning 18!’ The early 2000s were wild! (As in gross).”
The internet is also up in arms about a second resurfaced clip surrounding Kutcher’s past behavior. In a 2002 interview, Mila Kunis (Kutcher’s now-wife) recalled Masterson, 47, betting Kutcher $10 to “french kiss” her.
“It was like the first week,” Kunis shared on The Rosie O’Donnell Show during her and Kutcher’s joint interview at the time. “I was a 14-year-old little girl, and I was extremely scared for my life.”
Kutcher, for his part, attempted to backtrack. However, he assured the audience that he “so did it.” Kunis made it clear that “he never got his tongue in my mouth.”
Kutcher and Kunis played the roles of Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart, respectively, in That ‘70s Show, which aired for eight seasons on Fox from 1998 to 2006. However, they didn’t start sparking romance rumors until 2011. The couple tied the knot in July 2015, and share two kids — daughter Wyatt, 8, and son Dimitri, 6 — together.
The interview about their past kiss resurfaced days after Kutcher and Kunis made headlines for writing letters of support for their former costar Masterson, who was sentenced to 30 years to life in jail on September 7, after he was convicted of two counts of rape.
Kutcher referred to Masterson as a “role model,” in his letter, which was obtained by The Underground Bunker, a website which shares news about Scientology — the church in which Masterson is a part of.
“I hope that my testament to his character is taken into consideration in sentencing,” Kutcher’s letter read. “I do not believe he is an ongoing harm to society and having his daughter raised without a present father would [be] a tertiary injustice in and of itself.”
Kunis referred to Masterson as a man of “exceptional character” in her published letter, calling him an “amazing friend, confidant, and, above all, an outstanding older brother figure to me.”
After the letters went public Kutcher and Kunis received backlash from fans. The couple spoke out in an Instagram video posted on Saturday, September 9.
“We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson,” Kutcher said. Kunis added, “We support victims. We have done this historically through our work and we will continue to do so in the future.”
