Christina Ricci Urges Fans to ‘Believe Victims’ as She Opens Up About ‘Personal Experience’ with Men Who Were ‘Abusers Privately’
The 'Yellowjackets' actress shared a candid message on her Instagram Story about her past experience with abusers
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Christina Ricci is urging her fans to “believe victims.”
The Yellowjackets star, 43, shared a candid statement to her Instagram Story on Saturday about her experience with men who were “abusers privately.”
The post — which comes shortly after actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis apologized for writing controversial letters of support toward their That ’70s Show costar and convicted rapist Danny Masterson — began with Ricci sharing that “sometimes people we have loved and admired do horrible things.”
“They might not do these things to us and we only know who they were to us but that doesn’t mean they didn’t do horrible things and to discredit the abused is a crime,” Ricci wrote.
“People we know as ‘awesome guys’ can be predators and abusers. It’s tough to accept but we have to. If we say we support victims — women, children, men, boys — then we must be able to take this stance.”
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Ricci continued her message in a follow-up Instagram story, where she detailed that she has known “lots of ‘awesome guys’ who were lovely to me who have been proven to be abusers privately.”
“I’ve also had personal experience with this,” she wrote. “Believe victims. It’s not easy to come forward. It’s not easy to get a conviction.”
The Addams Family actor also shared a selfie with her 9-year-old son, Freddie Heerdegen, with the caption, “We out here believing and hoping for a better future.”
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Ricci’s posts came the same day that Kutcher, 45, and Kunis, 40, shared a video message to social media explaining why they penned letters of support for Masterson — who this week was sentenced to 30 years in prison for two rapes that took place during his years on That ’70s Show.
The letters, obtained by PEOPLE this week, feature Kutcher calling his former co-star a “role model” and “an extraordinarily honest and intentional human being.” Kunis, in her letter, referred to Masterson as someone with “exceptional character” and as “an outstanding role model and friend.”
“We are aware of the pain that has been caused by the character letters that we wrote on behalf of Danny Masterson,” Kutcher began in video shared to Instagram, where Kunis said that she and her husband “support victims and will continue to do so in the future.”
Kunis explained that the letters were “not written to question the legitimacy of the judicial system or the validity of the jury’s ruling. Kutcher added, “A couple months ago Danny’s family reached out to us and they asked us to write character letters to represent the person that we knew for 25 years, so that the judge could take that into full consideration relative to the sentencing.”
Kutcher went on to say that the letters were “intended for the judge to read and not to undermine the testimony of the victims or re-traumatize them in any way,” and added that they were “sorry if that has taken place.”
“Our heart goes out to every single person who’s ever been a victim of sexual assault, sexual abuse or rape,” Kunis concluded the video.
On Thursday, Masterson — who was convicted in May of raping two women — was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison, after both victims gave victim impact statements. One woman called Masterson “pathetic, disturbed and completely violent,” while another said she “knew he belonged behind bars for the safety of all the women he came into contact with,” according to the Associated Press.
Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón told PEOPLE in a statement that it had been “a long and arduous road for the victims of Mr. Masterson,” while the actor’s legal team insisted that he was not guilty and would attempt to have the convictions overturned.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
