Ashton Kutcher Says He Wants Danny Masterson to Be Innocent of Rape Allegations: “I Just Don’t Know”

Ashton Kutcher is speaking publicly for the first time about his former That ’70s Show and The Ranch co-star Danny Masteron, who was on trial last fall following multiple rape allegations from the early 2000s.

Speaking to Esquire in an interview published Tuesday, Kutcher discusses his vasculitis diagnosis, life on the front page of the tabloids, and his marriage and family with fellow actor and That ’70s Show star Mila Kunis.

Alongside that, the producer, venture investor and Thorn co-founder briefly discusses his response to the allegations against Masterson, who was charged in June 2020 with raping three women at his Hollywood Hills home between 2001 to 2003, a period in which he acted on the popular Fox series with Kutcher. He faced up to 45 years in prison if convicted, but his 2022 trial ended in a mistrial, with the case’s judge noting that the jury was “hopelessly deadlocked.”

The actor tells the magazine that he wanted his former Ranch co-star, who was fired from and written off the Netflix series after the allegations initially emerged, “to be found innocent of the charges brought against him.” Esquire writer Madison Vain adds that Kutcher’s stance isn’t “the same as Kutcher wanting his friend to get off the hook,” but that he wants him to actually be “innocent” of the crimes he’s been accused of.

Kutcher shares that he considered Masterson a mentor for much of his career, beginning with his co-star’s leadership within the That ’70s Show cast, where Masterson, according to Kutcher, kept the cast away from drugs and other personal and professionally harmful decisions. The actor also said he has remained in touch with Masterson and speaks to his brother often. 

That long-term relationship has left Kutcher, who has also done work through his nonprofit Thorn to curtail child exploitation and sex trafficking, thinking both about the larger personal implications of Masterson’s trial and the experiences of those who alleged he rape them. “Someday, his kid is going to read about this,” Kutcher told the magazine. “I wholesale feel for anybody who feels like they were violated in any way.”

On Jan. 6, Masterson and his legal team requested the L.A. County Superior Court judge assigned to his trial dismiss the charges against him after the jury was unable to reach a verdict. On Jan. 10, Deputy District Attorney Reinhold Mueller announced plans to retry the case.

Kutcher says he “can’t know” the answer to the allegations that surround Masterson. “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.” he said. “I just don’t know.”