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This article was written by a student writer from the Her Campus chapter at NCSU.
If you are not familiar with the Danny Masterson case, the title of this article may be confusing. That ’70s Show is a beloved classic whose cast loves each other like family. The show also marked the beginning of fan-favorite couple Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, and while many of their co-stars fell out of favor, the pair found a way to stay in the spotlight.
That is, until fans discovered that Kunis and Kutcher had written two separate letters to the judge in Danny Masterson’s case, praising his exemplary character. If you’re not familiar with Danny Masterson, he played Hyde on That ’70s Show and was accused of kidnapping and drugging three women. Although this article is not about him, I have some interesting news to tell you. He was found guilty of two rape charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison!
After it was reported that Kunis and Kutcher had written letters of support to Masterson, one of his victims, who initially chose to remain anonymous, took to Instagram and wrote a post in the story. The post says a lot of promising and evil things about Kutcher, but the most surprising thing is what it says about Kunis. Jane Doe #3, who we now know as Chrissy Bixler, speaks to Kunis in a more understanding tone. She says, “Dear Mila, I pray that you begin to understand what you experienced as a child on this set. Your old interviews are very telling.”
The post prompted people to dig up old interviews, and the results were disgusting.
In an interview conducted in 2002, Kunis recalls a prank that took place on set. It’s common knowledge that Kunis lied about her age when booking the show, which is why she was only 14 years old in the first season while the rest of the cast were 18+. However, after meeting with her colleagues, she told everyone the truth and everything was fine. Kunis’ character Jackie and Kutcher’s character Kelso dated throughout the first few seasons, and during one episode they kiss.
Since Kunis is 14 years old, this is her first kiss. Masterson, knowing this information, bets Kutcher $10 that he will French kiss her instead of the usual onstage kiss. During the interview, this interaction is played out as a joke, but imagine being a 14-year-old girl experiencing her first kiss, thinking it’s going to be a chaste TV kiss, and a grown man sticking his tongue in your mouth. Even Kutcher looks embarrassed in the interview and tries to make the situation less scary. But the truth is that Masterson was willing to pay to make this young girl, his friend, uncomfortable for his own pleasure.
Another interview, which takes place in the early 2000s, follows the actors behind the scenes on set. Masterson talks about how he got the job and mentions when he first met Kunis. He then jokes that she was “hot as hell” when they first met. Kunis quickly whispers under her breath, “14.” Masterson hears this and doubles down: “She was hotter at 14, but I’m not allowed to say that.” Kunis and Masterson laugh at the joke, and the interviewer continues as if nothing had happened.
Jokes like this seem normal on set. This makes me think of Kunis’ letter to the judge, where she called him a “big brother figure.” But we see here that he thinks differently from her. She is his fetish, something he knows he shouldn’t be attracted to but does anyway. Kutcher and Masterson seem to highlight the fact that Kunis is not only beautiful, but young and beautiful.
In this last interview, Kunis was a teenager and Kutcher was in his early twenties. The video begins with Kunis introducing herself, and as far as we can tell, Kutcher is not in the picture. That is until his head poked out from behind Kunis and we found her sitting on his lap. Kutcher then introduced himself and stated that he only did the interview because he was told, “If I did, Mila would sit on my lap.” They both start laughing and Kutcher exclaims that “this is good” and starts humping and grabbing Kunis, this lasts for a few seconds and the video ends.
This video shows us how comfortable they are with each other. He does it all on camera, so I can only imagine what happened when no one was there. Kunis found himself in a very vulnerable position. Hollywood is a notoriously unsafe place for children. Her partners were supposed to be her family. However, Kutcher and Masterson were constantly seen engaging in inappropriate behavior and using it to their advantage. These jokes and awkward advances have become expected.
I obviously don’t know what really went on behind the scenes, and unless one of the parties involved speaks up, I’ll never know. I can only use what is common knowledge, and the evidence paints a bad picture. My goal was to study Kunis’ time on set and understand. If I were put in her place, would I have acted differently? Could you? She was a child chasing her dream. My only hope is that if something traumatic happens behind closed doors, she can process it and get through it.
Sources
Morris, Regan and Max Matza. “Danny Masterson sentenced to 30 years to life for two rapes.” BBC News, BBC, 7 Sept. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66744480.