Ashton Kutcher under fire for problematic comment he made about Hilary Duff when she was 15 in resurfaced clip – amid backlash over support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson

Ashton Kutcher has come under fire again, this time for making a problematic comment about Hilary Duff when she was underage.

A resurfaced clip shows the 45-year-old actor – who was criticized for his support of convicted rapist Danny Masterson – in a 2003 episode of his show Punk’d, where he spoke about then-15-year-old Duff (now 35) during the introductory segment.

“Hilary Duff is in Lizzie McGuire, she also has an album out. She’s going to star in a movie called Cheaper by the Dozen. And she’s one of the girls we’re all waiting to turn 18. Along with the Olsen twins,” he added.

While Hilary was only 15, Mary-Kate and Ashley would have been 17 at the time, while Kutcher was 25.

The video was discovered after another older clip of Ashton went viral, where during a 2002 joint interview with his current wife Mila Kunis (now 40), the actress revealed that Masterson had bet Kutcher to kiss her when she was 14. -old little girl.

Kutcher and Duff starred together in the film Cheaper by the Dozen and she appeared in an episode of the MTV prank show, which he hosted.

Kutcher is now receiving a ton of backlash over the comment, which many deemed “rude” and “creepy.”

Earlier today, Kutcher’s wife Mila was pictured in the second unearthed clip as she talked about their time on That 70s Show.

The clip of Kutcher and Kunis – from a joint interview on The Rosie O’Donnell Show that aired in April 2002 – resurfaced as the couple made headlines Saturday after publicly apologizing for letters they had written praising Masterson to the judge. condemning the actor for his rape conviction.

The 2002 clip occurred during the early years of the Fox comedy, which ran from 1998 to 2006 and starred Kunis, Kutcher and Masterson as Jackie Burkhart, Michael Kelso and Steven Hyde, respectively.

At the time of the interview, Kutcher was 24 years old and Kunis was 19 years old. They chat with O’Donnell about how, early in the series, the script called for their characters to “kiss” in one scene.

“I feel like it’s slightly illegal, right,” Kutcher said, noting his teammate’s young age.

Kunis said the scripted kiss was the first time she had ever been kissed, and it happened during the first week of filming the retro comedy.

“I’ve never kissed a guy…I was a little girl of 14 and I was extremely afraid for my life,” Kunis said.

Kunis explained how Masterson offered to bet Kutcher $10 to French kiss him: “Danny said, ‘Dude, I’ll give you $10 if you French kiss him,’” Kunis said, turning towards Kutcher and asking him: “What, if you stay your tongue in my mouth?”

Kutcher said Kunis “made it seem like it was really” lecherous, admitting that he and Masterson “had a little side bet” about the kiss.

Kutcher said Masterson bet him $20 that he “wouldn’t do it”, and he said he would, saying it was consistent with what was called for in the script.

O’Donnell joked: “And then the cops came and you got arrested, pretty much.”

Kunis and Kutcher disagreed on whether he actually kissed her, as she said: “I didn’t let him… he never put his tongue in in my mouth.”

Kutcher said he actually thought Kunis was 15 at the time of the trade, adding, “There’s a big difference: One year changes the whole world.”

Kunis and Kutcher released a contrite clip days after a Los Angeles judge on Thursday sentenced Masterson to 30 years to life in prison for raping two women in 2003.

In a video posted Saturday to Instagram, Kutcher and Kunis said they were sorry for any pain they may have caused with the letters, which were made public Friday.

Kutcher said the letters asking for leniency “were intended to be read by the judge and not to undermine the victims’ testimony or retraumatize them in any way.”

“We would never want to do that and we are sorry if it happened.”

Kutcher said Masterson’s family approached them after the actor was convicted of rapes in May and asked them to write letters describing “the person we knew for 25 years.”

Masterson had reunited with Kutcher in the 2016 Netflix comedy The Ranch, but was written from the series when the Los Angeles Police Department’s investigation came to light the following year.

Judge Charlaine F. Olmedo of Los Angeles Superior Court handed down the sentence to Masterson, 47, after hearing statements from the women and pleas for fairness from defense attorneys.

Kutcher described Masterson as a man who treated people “with decency, equality and generosity,” he wrote in his letter dated July 27, 2023.

Kunis in his letter to Olmedo called Masterson an “outstanding role model and friend” and an “outstanding older brother figure.”

Both rapes took place in Masterson’s Hollywood-area home in 2003, when he was at the height of his fame on That ’70s Show. The victims testified that Masterson drugged them before violently raping them.

Kunis said in the apology video that their letters were not intended to undermine the victims’ testimony.

“Our hearts go out to every person who has ever been a victim of sexual assault, sexual abuse or rape,” she said.

Kutcher and Kunis worked with Masterson on That 70s Show – but they weren’t the only actors to speak out.

Former That 70s Show star Debra Jo Rupp, who played the hilarious Kitty Forman, also shared her support.