Trigger Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault and may be potentially triggering for some readers.
By now, we already know about the conviction of Danny Masterson and the charges brought against him: drugging and raping women – the heinous details of his crimes forever tarnishing our memories of the beloved That ’70s Show.
Back in the heyday of the show, the cast sat in multiple interviews, entertaining the audiences of talk shows with stories of behind-the-scenes antics. Unfortunately for some of them, these interviews did not age well and are resurfacing and providing fodder for the multitudes of former fans who have washed their hands of — in particular — Masterson, Mila Kunis, and Ashton Kutcher.
Kutcher and Kunis’ images have come under scrutiny in the past couple of days – after the couple provided character letters to the judge in Masterson’s case professing the moral fortitude of Masterson. When they began to receive backlash on the matter, they released a not-very-carefully worded “apology” to the public in response.
I guess if you’re really sincere, it shouldn’t take more than 60 seconds to apologize.
Now, in the aftermath of the trial and conviction of Masterson, vile and upsetting interviews and footage have resurfaced, proving that Masterson’s attitudes about women have always been unmistakably toxic and chauvinistic.
In an interview on the Rosie O’Donnell Show in 2002, which would have been smack-dab in the middle of the show’s run, Kutcher laughs and giggles while describing a conversation he had with Masterson about then-14 Kunis about an early scene of a shared kiss between himself — then 19 — and the actress who played Donna.
The way Kutcher described it:
“We had a little side bet going. You know – we’re kissing on the show, we’re boyfriend and girlfriend, you would use tongue, right, Rosie? So Danny bets me like twenty bucks I wouldn’t do it, and of course I’m like, ‘yeah, what’s the deal, you know?'”
So, no big deal, just a couple of predators chilling, right?
This was actually Kunis’ first kiss, and she claims he did not put his tongue in her mouth, and he insists he did. In this case, it seems like they both need to keep their mouths shut.
Then he starts insisting that it was okay, that she had turned 15 by then, claiming that “there’s a big difference! That one year makes the whole world change!”
We’ll just label this one “Exhibit A” and move on and continue to hope that the victims can gather some peace from the verdict in this case.
