Ashton Kutcher has stepped down as Chairman of the Board of Thorn, an anti-child-sex-abuse organization he co-founded over a decade ago with then-wife Demi Moore.
His letter of resignation reads in part, “Victims of sexual abuse have been historically silenced and the character statement I submitted is yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave enough to share their experiences.”
Kutcher goes on to explain his reasoning as follows: “I cannot allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve.”
The error in judgement to which he refers is a letter to a judge Kutcher wrote in support of now-convicted rapist and his former That ’70s Show co-star Danny Masterson. Masterson was recently sentenced to 30 years for his crimes.
Kutcher’s wife Mila Kunis, also a ’70s Show alum, wrote her own such letter for Masterson. Time magazine reports that she, too, has resigned her advisory role with Thorn. The duo had previously apologized.
Below is the entirety of Kutcher’s letter, which was just posted online by Thorn.
Thorn Board,
After my wife and I spent several days of listening, personal reflection, learning, and conversations with survivors and the employees and leadership at Thorn, I have determined the responsible thing for me to do is resign as Chairman of the Board, effectively immediately. I cannot allow my error in judgment to distract from our efforts and the children we serve.
As you know, I have worked for 15 years to fight for people who are sexually exploited. Victims of sexual abuse have been historically silenced and the character statement I submitted is yet another painful instance of questioning victims who are brave enough to share their experiences. This is precisely what we have all worked to reverse over the last decade.
The mission must always be the priority and I want to offer my heartfelt apology to all victims of sexual violence and everyone at Thorn who I hurt by what I did. And to the broader advocacy community, I am deeply sorry. I remain proud of what we have accomplished in the past decade and will continue to support Thorn’s work. Thank you for your tireless advocacy and dedication to this cause.
Sincerely,
Ashton Kutcher
