Ashton Kutcher Under Fire for Comments About Underage Hilary Duff From ‘Punk’d’

Summary:

Amid Danny Masterson’s sentencing, scrutiny falls on Ashton Kutcher for past comments about Hilary Duff and a bet involving Mila Kunis.
Kutcher’s questionable comments from the early 2000s resurface, including a bet with Masterson to “French kiss” Kunis on set.
Criticism also arises around Kutcher’s anti-sex trafficking organization Thorn, with allegations of spreading inaccurate statistics for financial gain.

Following the Danny Masterson sentence, questionable moments have surfaced involving Ashton Kutcher. People online are especially criticizing the actor for claiming that ‘everyone’ was waiting for Hilary Duff to be 18-years-old back in a 2003 interview.

Back in 2003, Kutcher was prominently known for his time on Punk’d, the hit show where celebrities went along with high stakes pranks on MTV. As of late, viewers noticed some of the strange comments that came from the show including one where Kutcher claimed everyone was ‘waiting’ for 16-year-old Hilary Duff to turn 18.

Ashton Kutcher talking about Hilary Duff when she was only 15. 😒 pic.twitter.com/JkEntAa9qB

— AskAubry 🦋 🐆🦝 (@ask_aubry) September 10, 2023

In addition, In a joint interview with “The Rosie O’Donnell’ show back in 2002, Kutcher’s now wife Mila Kunis, revealed Masterson had bet Kutcher to “French kiss” her while on the set of “That 70’s Show.” At the time, Kutcher was 19-years-old and Kunis was only fourteen.

In the interview, Kunis stated, “It was like the first week. I was a 14-year-old little girl, and I was extremely scared for my life.’ She goes on to note, “Danny goes, ‘Dude, I’ll give you $10 if you French kiss her.”

Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, & Danny Masterson during "Traffic" Los Angeles Premiere at The Academy in Beverly Hills, California, United States. — Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, & Danny Masterson during “Traffic” Los Angeles Premiere at The Academy in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage)

Kutcher later chimed in the interview correction the situation Masterson instead bet him $20 instead claiming he couldn’t do it. Users online have also gone on to point out Kutcher’s anti-sex trafficking organization Thorn and how other questionable comments have come up about the company as well. OC: For background, Thorn uses a technology product called “spotlight” which uses facial recognition to scrape the internet of escort ads and make a data base of anyone involved in sex work. Thorn then sells this data to law enforcement.

LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 13: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher attend a basketball between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena on November 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. — LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 13: Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher attend a basketball between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets at Crypto.com Arena on November 13, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Many have gone on to point out that Kutcher allegedly spread ‘bogus’ statistics to raise awareness for his organization. Back in 2011, Kutcher told CNN that “100,000 to 300,000 kids are sex trafficked every year in the U.S.” The data was claimed to be inflated based on a 2001 study which actually stated that this was the number of children at risk.

Some called this incident a situation where Kutcher tried to financially benefit from this interview with his company. And many are also calling the actions of Kutcher and Kunis writing letters on Masterson’s credibility for a lesser sentence hypocritical due to organizations such as this.