Christina Ricci appears to criticise Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis after they wrote to judge during Danny Masterson trial
Hollywood actress Christina Ricci appears to have criticised Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis after they appealed to a judge for leniency when sentencing their former co-star for rape.
In a lengthy statement in an Instagram story, Ricci said “people we know as ‘awesome guys’ can be predators and abusers” and it’s “tough to accept but we have to”.
She added that to “discredit the abused is a crime”.
Christina Ricci. Pic: AP
Ricci, best known for playing Wednesday Addams in the 1991 movie The Addams Family, made the remarks after Kutcher and Kunis released a video saying they didn’t mean to “undermine the testimony of the victims” and apologised if they had “retraumatised them in any way”.
The actor and actress, who are married, had written letters to the judge during the trial of their former That 70s Show co-host Danny Masterson – who has since been sentenced to 30 years in prison for raping two women.
During the trial, the women whose evidence led to his conviction said Masterson had given them drinks that made them feel light-headed in 2003, before they passed out and he raped them.
However, Kunis described him as a “role model” and Kutcher said he was “dedicated and loyal” in their letters to judge appeal for leniency.
Ricci wrote in her statement: “So sometimes people we have loved and admired do horrible things.
“They might not do these things to us and we only know who they were to us but that doesn’t mean they didn’t do the horrible things and to discredit the abused is a crime.
“People we know as ‘awesome guys’ can be predators and abusers.
“It’s tough to accept but we have to. If we say we support victims – women, children, men, boys – then we must be able to take this stance.”
She added: “Unfortunately I’ve known lots of ‘awesome guys’ who were lovely to me who have been proven to be abusers privately.
“I’ve also had personal experience with this.
“Believe victims. It’s not easy to come forward. It’s not easy to get a conviction.”
Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher. Pic: AP
Danny Masterson in 2017. Pic: AP
In their letters, Kutcher claimed that Masterson “was the first person to jump to the defence” of a girl he didn’t know after she was berated by her belligerent boyfriend.
In her letter, Kunis wrote: “Throughout our time together, Danny has proven to be an amazing friend, confidant, and, above all, an outstanding older brother figure to me.”
She went on to claim that Masterson had played a “pivotal role” in guiding her away from drug use.
In an Instagram video posted on Saturday night, Kutcher and Kunis took it in turns to explain why the letters were sent.
Kutcher said: “We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson.”
Kunis added: “We support victims, we have done this historically through our work and will continue to do so in the future.”
Click to subscribe to Backstage wherever you get your podcasts
Kutcher went on to say that Masterson’s family had reached out and asked them to write “character letters to represent the person that we knew for 25 years”.
He added that this was so the judge could “take that into full consideration relative to sentencing”.
Kunis then said: “The letters were not written to question the legitimacy of the judicial system or the validity of the jury’s ruling.”
Kutcher continued: “They were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or retraumatise them in any way, we would never want to do that and we’re sorry if that has taken place.”
Kunis finished the video by saying: “Our heart goes out to every single person who has ever been a victim of sexual assault, sexual abuse or rape.”
Masterson played Steven Hyde, Kunis played Jackie Burkhart, and Kutcher played Michael Kelso in the sitcom that ran between 1998 and 2006.
Entertainment
Harvey Weinstein accuser says film mogul ‘took her soul’ during alleged sexual assault
An ex-model has tearfully told a court that being sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein when she was 16 was the most “horrifying thing I ever experienced” to that point.
Warning: This article contains references to sexual assault
Kaja Sokola told the film producer’s retrial that he ordered her to remove her blouse, put his hand in her underwear, and made her touch his genitals.
She said he’d stared at her in the mirror with “black and scary” eyes and told her to stay quiet about the alleged assault in a Manhattan hotel in 2002.
Ms Sokola told the New York court that Weinstein had dropped names such as Penelope Cruz and Gwyneth Paltrow, and said he could help fulfil her Hollywood dream.
“I’d never been in a situation like this,” said Polish-born Ms Sokola. “I felt stupid and ashamed and like it’s my fault for putting myself in this position.”
Weinstein denies sexually assaulting anyone and is back in court for a retrial after his conviction was overturned last year.
Read more: Weinstein is back in court – but what has happened to the #MeToo movement since 2017?
Weinstein denies the allegations. Pic: Reuters
The 73-year-old is not charged over the alleged sexual assault because it happened too long ago to bring criminal charges.
However, he is facing charges over an incident four years later when he’s said to have forced Ms Sokola to perform oral sex on him.
Prosecutors claim it happened after Weinstein arranged for her to be an extra in a film.
“My soul was removed from me,” she told the court of the alleged 2006 assault, describing how she tried to push Weinstein away but that he held her down.
Read more from Sky News:
Bargain Hunt expert charged as part of police investigation into terrorist financing
Attenborough’s Ocean film is ‘biggest message he’s ever told’
Ms Sokola – who’s waived her right to anonymity – is the second of three women to testify and the only one who wasn’t part of the first trial in 2020.
Miriam Haley testified previously in the retrial. Pic: AP
Miriam Haley last week told the court that Weinstein forced oral sex on her in 2006. The other accuser, Jessica Mann, is yet to appear.
Claims against the film mogul were a major driver for the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and abuse in 2017.
Weinstein’s lawyers allege the women consented to sexual activity in the hope of getting film and TV work and that they stayed in contact with him for a while afterwards.
Entertainment
Ochuko Ojiri: Bargain Hunt expert charged as part of police investigation into terrorist financing
Entertainment
Man accused of harassing Jennifer Aniston for two years before crashing car through gates of her home
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway