Ashton Kutcher hopes Danny Masterson is ‘innocent’ of rape charges

Ashton Kutcher is addressing the ongoing rape of longtime friend and “The ’70s Show” co-star Danny Masterson.

Kutcher, who also collaborated with Masterson on the Netflix sitcom The Ranch, revealed that while he hopes Masterson is “found not guilty of the charges against him,” he doesn’t know if Masterson committed those crimes or not. Masterson was accused of sexual assault in 2017, and in June 2020 he was charged with three counts of rape that allegedly occurred between 2001 and 2003. This court case ended in a mistrial in December 2022. Masterson is facing his second trial on the aforementioned rape charge.

“Ultimately, I can’t know,” Kutcher said Noble Masterson maintained his innocence before the courts found him guilty. “I’m not the judge. I’m not the judge. I’m not the prosecutor. I’m not the victim. And I am not the accused. And in this case I have no room for comments. I just don’t know.”

Kutcher added: “One day your child will read about this… I feel so much for anyone who feels they have been wronged in any way.”

The star of “Revenge” and “Your Place Is Mine” recalled that Masterson served as a mentor to the young cast members of “The ’70s Show.”

“He’s like, ‘One fucking rule: don’t do anything fucking stupid and screw it. Because if you screw up, you screw up for everybody,” Kutcher said, saying Masterson steered his co-stars away from drugs and out-of-control behavior.

Masterson’s Scientology beliefs and membership were featured in Leah Remini’s documentary Scientology and the Aftermath. Remini, who left Scientology and has since become an outspoken activist against the organization, he tweeted After Masterson’s mistrial: “While this was not the outcome I wanted for the survivors of Danny Masterson’s predation, I am glad the retrial has now been rescheduled. My heart breaks for the women who fought bravely and tirelessly for justice for over five years. For years, she has been targeted and harassed by Scientology and its agents. They were also targeted and harassed by their family members and friends who remained in Scientology.”

He added: “I would like to remind everyone that if you are a Scientologist, you are strictly prohibited from reporting crimes committed against you by other Scientologists to civil authorities. Only internal Scientology authorities should report things… These women did as they were told. They reported their rapes to internal Scientology authorities. And having done so, they were not only blamed and abused; they were told they had not been raped and were ordered never to use the word “rape” again… Scientology was responsible for reporting these crimes to the civil authorities but did no such thing. Instead, he covered them up. Scientology should be a co-defendant in the next lawsuit.”

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