While I get your point, it didn't read as supportive to me. To me it read as a statement of "this is what I observed" not "this is my judgement of the kind of person he is."
Like if someone asked me what kind of person a coworker was. If my answer was "I saw them do their job" it can be a factual statement of my experience and really, isn't necessarily helpful. It just means I didn't witness them doing anything bad.
Edit - rereading as someone just posted a copy of the letter. While I can see some focus on positive interactions with his daughter, it still strikes me as a factual "this is what I observed" and far less the emotional supportive standpoint that bled through from some of the other letters that were submitted.
My name is Kurtwood Smith. I have been a professional actor for 57 years, the last 43 years working primarily in film and television. It is as an actor that I came to know Danny Masterson.
I should mention that I am aware that Danny has been convicted of two counts of forcible rape and is awaiting sentencing.
I have known Danny since the spring of 1998, when we began filming the television show That 70s Show. We worked on the show for eight years and I consider Danny to be a good friend. Our friendship revolved around work. Primarily because of our age difference we didn't socialize much outside of work but I saw hi every day on the job whether we had scenes together or not.
I believe Danny to be a wonderful actor. When working together I always found him to be prepared, inventive, and responsive to suggestions from the director, myself, and other actors. Danny was also very enjoyable to be around. He has a quick wit and a good sense of humor. I always looked forward to working on scenes with Danny. I should mention that he was extremely popular with the crew. He was usually the first actor to learn every crew member's name, what their job was, and how it related to his job. Danny was the leader among his contemporaries in the cast. He was a tad older and much more experienced and he took that position seriously.
During the eight years we did the show. we never had the problems some other shows had with their younger cast members. After the show ended in 2006 I didn't see much of Danny, except for occasional events, until almost 10 years later, when I began playing a recurring character on The Ranch. Danny was one of the stars of the show. I was happy to be working with him again. It was also great to see his family. If you know Danny, you know his family.
I have known his parents and younger brothers and sister since we started work on That 70s Show. They are a very close knit family; they seem to care very much for each other and work to help one another succeed.
Danny was now married and the father of a beautiful little girl. It was a treat to spend some time with him at work and to be around him and his family. I had met his wife while we were still shooting That 70s Show, although they were not married at the time.
I found that Danny treated all women on the show with respect, not only the women in the cast, but women on the crew as well. It was my observation that he treated the woman he married in a respectful and loving way. Later, when we were working on The Ranch. I was aware that, not only were they a happy couple, but he was a wonderful father to his daughter.
I had the opportunity to watch Danny with his daughter. At the time she was maybe two or three years old. It was so clear how much he loved her and how delighted he was with her. He was so patient and easygoing with her. At one point, when she became fussy, he joked with her and made faces and she calmed down and was laughing. She clearly loved her daddy.
I consider Danny a talented, hardworking, giving actor. I have viewed him being respectful and considerate to those he has worked with. He has been a leader and positive force among his peers. He has seemed loving and caring, not only towards his wife and daughter, but his family at large.
For all the reasons I have mentioned I consider myself fortunate to have had Danny Masterson in my life.
Not condoning rape here but given that the courts have done their job and the rapist is seeing justice, can we leave it at that?
The need to cancel by further and and further levels of abstraction is toxic to society. Justice (such as it is) is served. We should move on. If you feel a call to activism then seek out help and care for survivors. Seeking to further punish is going to rot you up inside.
When women are taught that sexual assault is not the fault of the men, there’s a false confidence if you don’t feel like you’re a “tease “ or “asking for it.”
“I feel his frozen fingers trail up my thigh,” she writes. “He tilts his chin up. The whites of his eyes look jaundiced. My eyes dart to [Trump adviser] John Eastman, who flashes a leering grin.
“Come here, big tits. Come here, big tits. Your tits belong to me. Give them to me (indiscernible). I want to claim my tits. I want to claim my tits. I want to claim my tits. These are my tits,” Giuliani said in one March 12, 2019, exchange,
“These breasts belong to me. Nobody else can get near these, OK? I don’t care if they’re flirting or they give you business cards. These are mine, you got it?” he continued. “Understand? I’m very fucking possessive. I’ve gone easy on you.”
Until now I always believed the silver lining of jan6 was that these beta's would at least not have time or thought for sexual harassment for a few hours
News like this is making it really hard not to turn into a cynic tbh
He accused someone of assaulting him in a supermarket. He claimed that he was hit so hard that he almost fell to the ground and that his shoulder still hurt. I can't find the reference, but I believe he also claimed some sort of "shock wave' after the assault that other people nearby felt.
Then the video was released and it was just a guy patting him gently on the back while passing him by. Definitely not assault. Okay, technically any contact could be considered battery, but this wasn't the life threatening attack that Rudy made it out to be.
“I feel his frozen fingers trail up my thigh,” she writes. “He tilts his chin up. The whites of his eyes look jaundiced. My eyes dart to [Trump adviser] John Eastman, who flashes a leering grin.
As a man I have a visceral reaction to this so I can only imagine as a woman. Eastman's reaction is what really sets it off over the edge, not that the whole situation isn't disgusting. I'm quite sure anyone who works with or has worked with Trump has to have some serious demons.
Booking that presser at the landscaping Four Seasons, near a dildo store - accident, or on purpose?
From "America's Mayor" to creepy groping grandpa who will be just as famous for playing with his chram on that Borat movie, for trying to mock the notion of - ahem - the media - announcing election outcomes while near a dildo store, and for groping Cassidy Hutchinson during a coup attempt...not that Roodles was ever all that great, but he's a great example of how everything donnie touches turns to shit.
With the Danny Masterson trial still fresh, I can't believe men still use this excuse. The women who accused Danny did come forward, and authorities did nothing. Many times for victims, nothing happens unless you make a public stink about it
And now add Trump and MAGA craziness into the mix. Suppose someone who was a hero to the MAGA folks sexually assaulted you. Not only would you have the normal issues with the authorities, but you'd have MAGA crazies threatening you for "besmirching their hero's reputation." You could face death threats and have people track you down all because you dared to demand justice for being sexually assaulted.
Under all that pressure, I can't blame women for staying silent. I wish that this wasn't the case and that they could bring these allegations up without fear of reprisal. Sadly, though, that wasn't the environment they faced.
Edit just to say: This makes me respect E Jean Carroll even more. I can't imagine the amount of threats she's gotten for daring to hold Trump accountable. It would have been extremely easy to just keep quiet to try to avoid the threats. Instead, she's gone after Trump - multiple times.
I hate how often I see that shit as a "gotcha." They set society up in a way that makes it an absolute nightmare to go through the process of even just reporting the assault. Good luck getting a conviction, unless you have a fucking video (and even then, toss-up). And then regardless of which way the trial ends up going, people never look at you or treat you the same ever again. It's really no fucking wonder...
And conservatives use this shit as a "well, it must not have happened because she never reported it." Yeah no shit. You know why.