Topher Grace’s spouse Ashley Hinshaw is sharing a message in assist of rape survivors following the information that Danny Masterson was sentenced to 30 years in jail on two counts of rape.
Hinshaw, 34, took to her Instagram Story on Friday to share a photograph of a tree in opposition to the sky.
“To each rape sufferer that’s that’s retraumatized by witnessing society debate and focus their consideration on what’s going to occur to the RAPIST … I see you,” Hinshaw wrote over the photograph.
Whereas Hinshaw did not specify that she was referring to the Masterson case, her statements got here shortly after the information broke that Grace’s former 70’s Present colleagues, together with Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Kurtwood Smith and Debra Jo Rupp, wrote particular person pleas to the choose for leniency throughout his sentencing. Further letters of assist got here from Masterson’s brother-in-law, Billy Baldwin, and actor Giovanni Ribisi.
The backlash in opposition to Kutcher and Kunis for writing letters has been vital, significantly as a result of couple’s well-known advocacy on behalf of the victims of intercourse crimes. (Kutcher is the co-founder of a non-profit group to fight intercourse trafficking referred to as Thorn together with his former spouse Demi Moore, whereas Kunis produced and performed the main position in Netflix’s Luckiest Lady Alive, the 2022 thriller wherein she performs a rape survivor.)
Following the swift backlash on Saturday, Kutcher shared a video of himself and Kunis to his Instagram account, wherein they acknowledged “the ache that has been brought on by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson.” Kutcher famous that they wrote the letters a “couple of months in the past” on the request of Masterson’s household, who had requested them to “write character letters to symbolize the individual that we knew for 25 years, in order that the choose may take that into full consideration relative to the sentencing.”
Regardless of their assist for Masterson, the couple clarified that their letters weren’t supposed to undermine the sentencing, or re-traumatize the victims. “We might by no means need to try this. And we’re sorry if that has taken place,” mentioned Kutcher.
“The letters weren’t written to query the legitimacy of the judicial system or the validity of the jury’s ruling,” Kunis famous. “We assist victims. We have now accomplished this traditionally by means of our work and can proceed to take action sooner or later.”
Grace didn’t pen a letter in assist of Masterson. In 2018, Grace instructed the Hollywood Reporter that he did not need to come throughout as defending Masterson’s actions, and had no thought concerning the issues he was accused of doing throughout their time collectively onscreen.
“You understand, I hesitate to say that I by no means noticed any of that conduct as a result of I really feel prefer it appears like I’m defending him, however the reality is I by no means noticed any of that stuff,” Grace shared.
He went on to say that he was nonetheless in contact with a number of of his co-stars, and that his time on the beloved Fox sitcom was very particular.
“We have been all very shut, having that have each single day with one another. It was nice to broadcast it out as soon as per week, however, like, I’m nonetheless nice associates with these guys,” Grace continued. Nonetheless, he famous there was a little bit of a divide between them. “I used to be, of that solid, essentially the most boring. So when it got here to going out after the present and partying, I simply was boring.”
Grace returned to tackle his position as Eric Forman in That ’90s Present again in January, alongside Kunis, Kutcher, Rupp and Smith. Masterson didn’t return to the present.
