Kutcher was starring alongside Masterson and serving as an executive producer of The Ranch when the Men at Work alum was fired from the show in December 2017.
“As a result of ongoing discussions, Netflix and the producers have written Danny Masterson out of The Ranch. [December 4, 2017] was his last day on the show, and production will resume in early 2018 without him,” Netflix said in a statement at the time.
Kutcher, for his part, addressed the allegations for the first time during a January 2023 interview with Esquire.
“Ultimately, I can’t know. I’m not the judge. I’m not the jury. I’m not the DA. I’m not the victim. And I’m not the accused. And so, in that case, I don’t have a space to comment. I just don’t know,” he told the outlet, adding that he hopes Masterson will “be found innocent of the charges brought against him.”
The Just Married actor, who noted he is still in touch with his former costar, emphasized that he stands with victims of sexual abuse. “I wholesale feel for anybody who feels like they were violated in any way,” he said.
The Two and a Half Men alum went on to express empathy for Masterson’s daughter, Fianna, whom he shares with wife Bijou Phillips: “Someday, his kid is going to read about this.”
He and wife Mila Kunis wrote character reference letters on Masterson’s behalf in 2023 after he was convicted on two counts of rape. The notes sparked backlash the following September after Masterson was sentenced.
Kutcher explained that the letters were written at the request of Masterson’s family. “A couple of months ago, Danny and his family reached out to us, and they asked us to write character letters to represent the person that we knew for 25 years so that the judge could take that into full consideration, relative to the sentencing,” he said in an Instagram video with Kunis.
“They were intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or re-traumatize them in any way,” Kutcher said. “We would never want to do that, and we’re sorry if that has taken place.”
