'The Ranch' Star Ashton Kutcher Faces Backlash After Partying With Accused Rapist Danny Masterson

The Ranch star Ashton Kutcher is facing backlash from one of the women who accused Danny Masterson [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

The Ranch star Ashton Kutcher is facing backlash from one of the women who accused Danny Masterson of rape, after photos of Kutcher appearing at a wedding with his friend surfaced this week.

Journalist Tony Ortega reported that that Kutcher attended the wedding of Scientologist and The Ranch actor Justin Mooney and Brittany Brisco on Jan. 26 in Napa Valley, California. Photos from the event surfaced on Twitter, showing Kutcher hanging out with Masterson and other friends, including Punk'd writer Matt Mazzant, Kutcher's stand-in Travis Case and Masterson's half-brother, Last Man Standing actor Jordan Masterson.

The Scientology wedding ceremony was performed at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in Saint Helena, California. A photo of the seating chart shows Kutcher and his wife, Mila Kunis, sitting at the same table as Masterson and Jordan Masterson.

After photos of the wedding surfaced on social media, one of Masterson's accusers, Chrissie Carnell Bixler, told The Daily Beast she was "left confused and heartbroken" by Kutcher and Kunis' continuing support for their That '70s Show co-star Masterson.

"Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have positioned themselves as champions for women, children, fighting against sexual abuses and sex trafficking. Public supporters of the #MeToo movement and Time's Up. Ashton and Mila were at the forefront marching in the Women's March on March 13, 2018, in Los Angeles," Bixler said.

She continued, "As much as I applaud them for standing up for women, I am left confused and heartbroken as to why they refuse to stand up for all the women they know who have been violently raped by their friend Danny Masterson."

Masterson was written out of The Ranch after Netflix fired him in late 2017, months after Ortega reported on the rape allegations against him. In March 2017, it was reported that the Los Angeles Police Department was investigating allegations of rape and assault against Masterson in the early 2000s from at least four women. The allegations included raping a girlfriend while she was unconscious and sexually assaulting a woman at a party.

Despite "overwhelming" evidence, The Huffington Post reported that the case stalled. However, Ortega reported this week that the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office is "very close to making a decision" on whether or not to press charges against Masterson.

Masterson has denied the allegations, and the Church of Scientology has denied allegations it tried to silence his accusers.

"The Church adamantly denies that it ever ignores any allegations of criminal behavior, especially at the expense of alleged victims. What is being stated is utterly untrue," the church told The Daily Beast in July 2018. "This has nothing to do with religion. This story is being manipulated to push a bigoted agenda. The Church follows all laws and cooperates with law enforcement. Any statement or implication to the contrary is false."

On the same day Ortega published his report on the wedding, Kutcher tweeted out a phone number many thought was his personal number. However, Wired traced it to a start-up called Community.com. Kutcher later deleted the tweet with a number, adding, "I will repost soon... sms is a fragile beast."

Photo credit: John Shearer/Getty Images for CMT

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