Mila Kunis looked to be in a celebratory mood last week when she posed for photos with Michael Keaton at the premiere of their hotly anticipated new film, “Goodrich.”
But Kunis was apparently able to attend the premiere of the family drama, which opens Friday, without having field uncomfortable questions from reporters about her husband, Ashton Kutcher, and his longtime friendship with embattled music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs.
Sean “P. Diddy” Combs and actor Ashton Kutcher sit courtside at the game between the Boston Celtics and the New Jersey Nets in Game two of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2003 NBA Playoffs on May 7, 2003 at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Since Combs’ arrest last month on federal sex trafficking charges, Kutcher has been among the stars who may or may not be worried about new, unsavory details coming out in criminal filings or civil lawsuits about the rapper’s infamous parties. Federal prosecutors and alleged victims have alleged that some of Combs’ gatherings involved women, men, and even minors being forced to perform sexual acts during multi-day “freak off” parties for his pleasure.
After the music mogul’s Sept. 16 arrest in New York City, old photos emerged showing a young Kutcher with Combs, including him co-hosting the record producer’s annual White Party in 2009, the New York Post said. Kutcher has stayed quiet about the allegations surrounding his friend, which include sex trafficking, racketeering, conspiracy and transportation to engage in prostitution. Combs has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is being held in the notorious Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, as he awaits trial.
Actor Ashton Kutcher, actress Demi Moore and Sean “Diddy” Combs arrive at the White Party hosted by Sean “Diddy” Combs and Ashton Kutcher to help raise awareness for Malaria No More held at a Private Residence on July 4, 2009 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images)
Combs and Kutcher’s friendship reportedly goes back to the early 2000s, while a resurfaced clip from Kutcher’s 2019 appearance on “Hot Ones” has faced particular scrutiny, the New York Post said.
In the clip from the YouTube talk show, Kutcher’s friendship with Combs becomes a conversation topic. “I’ve got a lot I can’t tell,” Kutcher said, clearly unwilling to discuss the rapper’s parties on the show. “So, uh,” he said before pausing.
“Can’t tell that one, either,” Kutcher laughed. “I’m actually cycling through them. … Diddy party stories, man — that was some weird memory lane thing.”
But if Kutcher co-hosted Combs’ 2009 White Party, the New York Post said it’s important to note that there is no indication that he or other stars who attended any of the White Parties, including Kutcher’s first wife, Demi Moore, were involved in illegal activity. It’s also important to distinguish between Combs’ lavish White Parties and the “freak off” parties, which allegedly were drug- and alcohol-fueled sex orgies.
Unfortunately for Kunis, she has been dragged into reports about her husband’s friendship with Combs, with sources close to the couple being forced to deny speculation that their nine-year marriage is in trouble. An insider told People last month that any talk of a separation or breakup, because of the Combs’ controversy, is “absolutely ridiculous and false.”
Actor Ashton Kutcher laughs with his wife actress Mila Kunis while posing for pictures on the red carpet for the 6th annual 2018 Breakthrough Prizes at Moffett Federal Airfield, Hanger One in Mountain View, Calif., on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Kunis and Kutcher met while working together on the set of “That ’70s Show” in 1998. Kunis was only 14 when she landed the role of the love interest of Kutcher’s character. Kunis, who was born in Ukraine and moved to the United States at age 7, admitted that she lied about her age to get the role, the New York Post said.
Also, unfortunately for Kunis, the Combs controversy follows another public relations nightmare for her and her husband — when both voiced their public support for Danny Masterson, their “That ’70s Show” co-star and another good friend who was implicated in multiple sexual assaults. Both Kunis and Kutcher wrote character letters on Masterson’s behalf before his sentencing in 2023 to 30 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of two counts of rape.
Kunis and Kutcher faced severe, prolonged backlash for the character letters because they praised their friend as a “role model” and an “exceptional person” — views that Masterson’s accusers said “trivialized” his crimes and directly questioned their testimony.
The Combs scandal — following the Masterson backlash — has given rise to yet another rumor about Kunis and Kutcher. According to In Touch Weekly, the couple are considering moving away to move away from Hollywood and build a new life in Europe instead.
“Ashton’s so exasperated that once again he’s being dragged through the mud because of his past associations,” an insider told In Touch Weekly. “First it was Danny Masterson and now it’s Diddy, and it’s got him convinced that there are way better places out there to live than Hollywood. In his view the town is just a cesspool at this point.”
The couple spent the summer in Europe with their two children and took them to one of Taylor Swift’s Eras tour performances in London in June, In Touch Weekly said. But the source also reported that their respective careers may keep them in the United States. Kutcher also is a successful tech investor, while Kunis’s acting career is heating up. She’s set to star in the latest installment of the “Knives Out” franchise, starring Daniel Craig, and she’s currently promoting “Goodrich,” for which she and Keaton also served as executive producers, Vogue reported.
In “Goodrich,” Kunis plays the pregnant daughter of Keaton’s title character, an older art gallery owner who asks for her help taking care of his 9-year-old twins when his younger wife checks herself into rehab.