Ashton Kutcher is great at two things: being hot and putting his foot in his mouth amidst controversy.
And no, sadly he didn’t combine those two skills into some sexy, contortionist act…
He’s got himself into some hot water lately by supporting a company he’s invested in… Uber!
[ Related: Ashton Says Demi Moore Prepared Him For Fatherhood! ]
It all started with one simple tweet:
What is so wrong about digging up dirt on shady journalist? @pando @TechCrunch @Uber
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
Oh boy. What he’s referring to is Sarah Lacy, the female journalist who was basically attacked by Uber after writing negatively about the company.
Ashton pretty quickly went on a tweeting spree to get his opinion out there, saying across several tweets:
“I believe we live in a day [where] the first word has become “the word.” Rumors span the globe before anyone has an opportunity to defend them selves. Everyone is guilty and then tasked to defend themselves publicly. Questioning the source needs to happen… Always! So as long as journalist are interested and willing to print half truths as facts… Yes we should question the source.”
After what we assume was a crazy amount of backlash, Ashton made sure to make one point certain:
To be clear I speak for my self not @Uber
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
But we bet that didn’t stop the criticism from coming in because he then tweeted:
This should be fun… Here comes the part where journalist explain why they should be exempt from ridicule and judgement and probing…
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
…before finally giving up and saying:
U r all right and I’m on the wrong side of this ultimately. I just wish journalists were held to the same standards as public figures.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
#GoodForRatings #TrafficSpike #WelcomeToShockJournalism
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014
Sounds a lot like a “there’s no such thing as bad publicity” tweet. But that’s NOT the end of it.
After taking some time to think about things and formulating some thoughts before blasting it to the world, Ashton wrote and shared an entire blog post on the subject!
He does have an inneresting viewpoint, though, seeing as how he is a public figure whose personal life is often mined for journalistic gold.
Check out his entire blog post (below) and get a look inside Ashton’s mind.
This morning I engaged in a public conversation around the notion that journalists should not be exempt from the actions they often employ in news gathering. I’m not suggesting that threatening journalists is OK. I am only questioning where the line between public and private is ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ and where we want it to be.
As a “public figure” I know all too well the distress that comes with worrying about the safety of loved ones while someone is digging up dirt on you, because I experience it every day! I don’t think it’s OK for a journalist to feel this nor do I think it’s OK for a public figure to feel this. I also don’t think that it’s OK for people to be worried about being publicly scorned for privately having a bad idea. I’ve thought to myself 100 times: “I’d love to hire someone to get dirt on that guy and publish it├óΓé¼┬ª Just so he knows how it feels.” Have I ever followed through? No. Will I? No. Do I support someone who does? No! Because if I did I’d be just like the people who invade my private life all the time. But I don’t think the guy did something wrong by thinking it, or even saying it, in what he considered to be a private forum. We have to stop thought-policing each other. If we aren’t allowed to have bad ideas we will never have the room to have a good one.
Where is the line for “the public’s right to know?” Is it just public companies, politicians, celebs, families of celebs, and employees of successful private companies who are fair game, while well-known journalists are off-limits?
I believe that journalism is a core component of our democracy. I do not think journalists should be bullied, but I do think that with the vast shift of media dynamics that has taken place since the birth of social media we need to consider and revisit the boundaries of what we believe to be ethical in news gathering. In a world where everyone has a camera, everyone has a recorder, everyone has a publishing platform, who is a journalist and who is not? What’s on the record and what’s off? Maybe we should think about what freedom of the press really is, and what constitutes an invasion of privacy, hearsay, or outright slander?
Now that I’ve posted this on my media platform, am I a journalist
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