Christina Ricci has issued a statement succinctly explaining why the letters of support written for Danny Masterson hurt victims of abuse. On September 7, Masterson was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty of two counts of rape. Justice was finally served over six years after the initial allegations were filed against Masterson. Unfortunately, the trial faced interference from the Church of Scientology, which allegedly began harassing, stalking, and attempting to discredit the victims to protect Masterson. Then, the victims had to endure two trials, as the first one resulted in a mistrial.
While the sentencing finally brought justice, it also still brought more pain as it was revealed afterward that over 50 people wrote letters of support for Masterson prior to his sentencing. Among those who wrote letters were several of Masterson’s former co-stars from That ’70s Show, including Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Debra Jo Rupp, and Kurtwood Smith. Excerpts from Kutcher’s and Kunis’ letters have circulated online and the contents shockingly praise Masterson’s character, going as far as to call him a “role model” and to suggest he’s not an “ongoing harm to society.”
Kutcher and Kunis later posted an apology video where they feebly tried to excuse their actions by explaining that the Masterson family had requested character letters and that they had never meant to question the jury’s ruling or undermine the victims.
The apology hasn’t gone over very well, as the pair seem to be deflecting accountability and not grasping the gravity of what they did. They wrote letters supporting a man convicted of rape and tried to get the judge to focus on his good qualities, instead of his abuse, to land him a lighter sentence, so it’s inexplicable that they claim they didn’t intend to undermine his victims. Now, Ricci is speaking out to explain exactly why those letters were harmful.
Christina Ricci explains what it means to support victims
As reported by People, Ricci took to her Instagram Story on September 10 to briefly explain what it really means to support victims. She did not mention Kunis, Kutcher, or Masterson by name, but her words were very fitting for the situation. Ricci explained that, as hard as it is to accept, people that “we have loved and admired do terrible things.” Even the kind of people we know as “awesome guys” are capable of being predators and abusers. However, being able to accept that even someone we admire is capable of abuse is vital to supporting victims.
Ricci drew from her personal experiences, explaining that she has known “awesome guys” who were “lovely” to her but turned out to be abusers privately. She concluded her statement with a simple plea to “believe victims” because it’s already hard enough to come forward with allegations and especially difficult to actually see one’s abuser get convicted. The multiple trials that Masterson’s victims had to endure and the alleged terrifying harassment campaign from the Church of Scientology illustrate exactly what victims who come forward face. The last thing that they should’ve had to endure was multiple people urging the judge base sentencing on their personal positive experiences with Masterson over the abuse his victims suffered.
Ricci’s statement very simply describes why we need to believe and have empathy for victims. It’s estimated that at least 63% of sexual abuse cases go unreported, along with at least half of all domestic abuse cases. It’s exceedingly difficult for victims to come forward, and people need to think about how they’re adding to the victims’ pain when they begin defending or supporting an alleged abuser in any manner. Most abuse happens in private, so it doesn’t matter if you’ve never seen the abuse or if you’ve never personally experienced the abuse.
Additionally, just because someone was good to you doesn’t mean that their abuse towards someone else doesn’t matter. It’s time that people start being able to see beyond themselves and their experiences to acknowledge that abuse does happen and that it still matters, even if they’re not the victim.
(featured image: Netflix)
