Months after being found guilty of rape, former actor Danny Masterson was sentenced this past week. The judge ultimately sentenced him to 30 years in prison for raping two women. Amid this development and throughout the legal process, Masterson’s former That ‘70s Show co-stars have mostly remained mum on his situation. It would seem, however, that he did receive some support from a couple of the sitcom’s alums ahead of his sentencing. It would appear that Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis wrote letters on his behalf.
News of the 47-year-old’s sentencing was reported by a number of sources, including ABC7 reporter Lisa Bartley. After she shared the news to X (formerly known as Twitter) this past Thursday, she provided an update. Bartley shared that she’d obtained letters that were sent to the presiding judge from the Men at Work alum’s loved ones. It was in that post that she revealed that his two fellow actors – who are married – wrote acknowledgements of their own:
#DannyMasterson update… I just picked up the letters from Masterson’s family and friends sent to Judge Olmedo ahead of today’s sentencing. Still going through them but actors @aplusk and @MilaKunisv both speak highly of their friend, now convicted rapist @dannymasterson
Knowledge on the specific content of the letters is scarce at this point. Per Good Morning America though (via Hello! Magazine), the pair of stars were complementary. Ashton Kutcher – who co-runs a foundation that combats child sex trafficking – allegedly referred to his former co-star as a “role model.” It’s reported that Mila Kunis made note of the actor’s “exceptional character” within her own remarks.
The married couple has a considerable amount of history with the embattled performer, mostly due to That ‘70s Show, which ran for eight years on Fox. Around a decade after the hit series’ conclusion, Ashton Kutcher reteamed with Danny Masterson for Netflix’s The Ranch. Masterson was ultimately fired from the show in 2017 due to the rape allegations he was faced with. Earlier this year, Kutcher addressed his colleague’s legal troubles during an interview with Esquire. The father of two maintained that he didn’t want to see Masterson “elude the law” but hoped “for the truth to show he's innocent.”
Danny Masterson – a noted Scientologist – was accused of sexual assaulting multiple women between 2001 and 2003. At least four women came forward with the claims in 2017, and the trial (which saw the Church of Scientology get embroiled in the matter) ultimately began in the fall of 2022. However, due to a hung jury, Masterson’s case was declared a mistrial. The retrial began in the spring of 2023 and ended with the actor being found guilty of rape. Following his sentence, his lawyer, Shawn Holley, revealed that she’s “confident” the conviction will be overturned. She cites “significant evidentiary and constitutional issues” during the case as reasons for that thinking.
As of this writing, neither Ashton Kutcher or Mila Kunis have yet to publicly acknowledge these reported letters. The documents themselves have not been released to the general public in their entirety, at this point. For now, we can only wait and see if more information on the documents comes to the light.
