LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Following extreme backlash for the now-infamous character letters for Danny Masterson, Ashton Kutcher has stepped down from his position as the Chairman of his anti-child sex abuse organization Thorn, after which the Internet is doing a U-turn.
The ‘No Strings Attached’ actor co-founded the charitable organization in 2009 with his then-wife Demi Moore. Initially, it was named DNA (Demi and Ashton). Later its name was changed to Thorn.
Kutcher served the organization as its Chairman before his resignation on Friday, September 15.
On Friday, Kutcher shared an eloquently written letter and said, “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.”
Calling their character-affirming letters for their rape-convicted friend Danny Masterson an “error of judgment,” he wrote in the letter about his decision to “resign as Chairman of the Board, effectively immediately,” per Daily Mail.
After his resignation, however, the Internet which led in castigating him and Mila Kunis, became a little lenient and came to the conclusion that they are not “terrible human beings.”
What does the Thorn organization do?
Per the company’s website, they “form long-term partnerships to build tools to fight child sexual abuse.”
They wrote, “We want our partners at tech companies, in law enforcement, and at NGOs, to have what they need to help kids. So we identify the needs, gather resources, and create powerful solutions.”
'Ashton and his wife are by no means terrible humans'
Internet did a complete U-turn when the news of Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis leaving Thorn went viral.
One exclaimed, "This is ridiculous! These two have done more for kids and child abuse then almost any other celebrity out there. And now they are being shamed on because they tried to help a old cast member? And it was mostly because his parents asked them too. We live in a world where criminals are loved and hero’s are dragged through the dirt!"
"Jesus Christ isn’t this a little counterproductive?" one X user said. "@aplusk. You let the mob win. Stand strong for the children," someone mourned.
Netizens commented on YouTube videos as well to express their dissatisfaction at Kutcher and Kunis's resignation and defended them.
Someone on YouTube commented, "Ashton and his wife are by no means terrible humans. They just believed in someone and maybe he’s better. Maybe he’s not that rapist guy anymore. People change and all Ashton and Mila did was believe in a friend and support them. This world needs to stop this cancel culture!!"
To the previous comment, another showed their support by saying, "Absolutely agree that cancel culture is atrocious. Also agree that we shouldn't be judging a person's entire character based on one decision from which we don't know their perspective."
"Definitely an L for the org. Feel bad for the two of them, they were just trying to help someone they thought was a friend," commented another netizen who supported the couple.
Another social media user recalled going through a similar situation and said, "It can feel very confusing and I know they just wanted to try to do what was right in their eyes. I read the letter. And it seems they were more concerned with Danny's kid not having a dad then they were with Danny escaping punishment altogether."
