Truly nothing surprises us about Hollywood anymore. That 70s Show actor Danny Masterson has been convicted in a court of law of carrying out rapes and sexual assaults that were, in the words of the judge:
“…violent, it was targeted in some instances, surreptitiously drugging his victims…”
However Hollywood gonna Hollywood. New documents reveal that co-stars Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, among others, made a plea to the judge for leniency in sentencing. Ahead of September 7, when their castmate Masterson was to prison for rape, they wrote letters to the judge.
The letters of support were published by reporter Tony Ortega and, while they acknowledge he was found guilty, they still vouch for his character. Other castmates, including co-stars Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, also wrote their own statements on behalf of Masterson.
Others such as Topher Grace, Laura Prepon, and Wilmer Valderrama did not. Masterson was absent from the That ’90s Show reboot. Smith’e letter read:
“I found that Danny treated all women on the show with respect, not only the women in the cast, but women on the crew as well. It was my observation that he treated the woman he married in a respectful and loving way.”
Kutcher’s letter went further:
“While I’m aware that the judgment has been cast as guilty on two counts of rape by force and the victims have a great desire for justice, I hope that my testament to his character is taken into consideration in sentencing.”
Kutcher went on to say that Masterson is a “role model,” who “made it clear” he was against drugs, a Scientology belief. “And for me, that was an implication that if I were to do drugs, he wouldn’t want to be friends with me, which is something I never would want to risk or jeopardize.”
Letters from Mila Kunis, Debra Jo Rupp, Jim Patterson (creator of The Ranch), and Masterson’s wife, Bijou Phillips, all highlight Masterson’s drug-free lifestyle in their defences of him. Don’t do drugs, do rape instead? This is the message Hollywood? Really? Kutcher continues:
“I do not believe he is an ongoing harm to society, and having his daughter raised without a present father would a tertiary injustice in and of itself.”
Other high-profile Hollywood figures to ask the judge for leniency include Billy Baldwin, and Scientology member Giovanni Ribisi and his parents Gay and Albert, as well as other members of Masterson’s family. None of this worked. He was given 30 years to life in prison, the maximum possible sentence for two counts of forcible rape that happened in 2003.
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