CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses rape and murder.
Chrissie Carnell Bixler, one of the three women who accused Danny Masterson of rape, has accused Ashton Kutcher of questionable past behaviour, including comments about underage women. Her claims come after it was discovered that he, along with his wife Mila Kunis, vouched for Masterson in letters sent to the court before his sentencing trial on September 7.
Kunis and Kutcher have since apologised for writing the letters and emphasised that they “support victims”.
On Saturday local time, Bixler wrote a cryptic message to Kutcher and Kunis on her Instagram Story. She claimed to know the “secrets” that Masterson keeps for Kutcher and alluded to a “plan” allegedly made during a phone call that occurred on February 21, 2001.
“I heard the plan. In my opinion, you’re just as sick as your ‘mentor’,” she wrote, referencing the character letter sent by Kutcher, which refers to Masterson as his mentor.
The reason February 21, 2001 is significant because that is the date that a woman Kutcher was dating named Ashley Ellerin was found murdered in her home. To be extremely clear, we’re not at all implying that Kutcher had anything to do with her murder. The killer was declared to be a 43-year-old man named Michael Gargiulo, who was dubbed “Hollywood ripper”, during a 2019 trial. Kutcher was even involved in the case and shared his testimony with the court.
During the trial, Kutcher claimed that he’d arrived late to pick up Ellerin for a date but she didn’t answer the door. He said he looked inside the house and thought he saw wine stains on the floor. He then left, thinking she was mad at him for being late for their date and found out about her death in the following days.
He told the court he was “freaking out” after finding out she died that night.
“My fingerprints are on this door and I was freaking out. I told [an officer], ‘Let me tell you what happened’,” he said to the court in 2019.
But due to this claim on Bixler’s IG Story, which alleges that Kutcher called Masterson on the night of Ellerin’s death, online sleuths claim there’s more to the story. Some people have alleged that he knew Ellerin was dead but instead of calling the police, he called his inner circle.
Bixler also wrote a direct statement to Kunis: “If that’s what you view as a normal relationship with a ‘big brother figure’ then I feel very sad for you.
“You all must forget I was there the whole time those first five years of That 70’s Show. I remember everything,” she concluded, per Page Six.
Then on Sunday local time, Bixler shared a clip from a 2003 episode of Punk’d to Instagram in which Kutcher makes some pretty yucky comments about a then-15-year-old Hilary Duff.
“She’s one of the girls that we’re all waiting for to turn 18. Along with the Olsen twins,” he said to the camera.
I know the early 2000s were a different time but this is just a reminder that these were underage stars that grown men were publicly sexualising on television.
Thankfully, the internet seems to think it’s pretty disgusting too because these clips have gone absolutely viral on TikTok.
But that’s not all. A clip of an old interview with Kutcher and Kunis on The Rosie O’Donnell Show has emerged. During the interview with Rosie O’Donnell, the pair talk about how Masterson once bet Kutcher $10 to “French kiss” Kunis on the set of That ’70s Show.
At the time, Kunis was only 14 years old. She even describes herself in the clip as a “14-year-old little girl.”
While some might look back at the now-married couple and think this is a funny little first-kiss story, I’d like to reiterate that she was an actual child having her first-ever kiss on a television set with a 19-year-old man. An adult who was bet $10 to kiss her with tongue.
On Monday, Bixler continued her takedown of Kutcher by sharing a cryptic notes app screenshot to her IG Story.
“Y’all want to ask Ashton Kutcher if he remembers that orchestrated meeting between himself, January Jones, Laura Prepon and me that took place in my (Danny Masterson’s) living room in 1998?
“I know the secrets your “role model” keeps,” she wrote, alongside the hashtag “#hiddencameras”.
Kutcher’s cheeky-yet-good-boy rep is taking a bit of a beating.
The viral clips, accusations, the Danny Masterson case, and the letter written by Kutcher have also sparked a wider conversation about public opinion and celebrity.
Actor Christina Ricci, who is the US spokesperson for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, took to her IG Story to comment on the Danny Masterson situation.
“So sometimes people we have loved and admired do horrible things,” she wrote.
“They might not do these things to us and we only know who they were to us but that doesn’t mean they didn’t do the horrible things and to discredit the abused is a crime.”
“People we know as ‘awesome guys’ can be predators and abusers. It’s tough to accept but we have to. If we say we support victims — women, children, men, boys — then we must be able to take this stance.
“Unfortunately I’ve known lots of ‘awesome guys’ who were lovely to me who have been proven to be abusers privately. I’ve also had personal experience with this.
“Believe victims. It’s not easy to come forward. It’s not easy to get a conviction,” she concluded.
ICYMI, Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison for rape on September 8 after being found guilty of raping two women between the years of 2001 and 2003. His sentence comes after the initial investigation kicked off in 2017.
Help is available.
If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
If you’d like to speak to someone about sexual violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
