Topher Grace And Conan O’Brien Earned Public Favor By Staying Quiet & Letting Their Past Actions Speak For Themselves
Actions speak louder than words. But sometimes, the best thing to say is nothing at all.
Kathy Hutchins, Tinseltown, Ovidiu Hrubaru / Shutterstock; RDNE Stock project, Billion Photos, simarik, DAPA Images, annetdebar, Sean824 / Canva A judge recently sentenced “That 70’s Show” star Danny Masterson to 30 years to life in prison after being found guilty of two counts of rape earlier this year in May 2023. Masterson maintains his innocence and plans to appeal his case, showing no remorse for the two victims.
Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, two actors who starred in "That 70's Show" alongside Masterson, were among nearly 50 people who wrote letters to advocate for a more lenient sentencing by vouching for his character.
As a result, they’ve faced widespread criticism for their actions that are hypocritical of the things they seemingly believed in, which has been followed by an apology video that social media has used to further scrutinize them.
Just last week, a bombshell Rolling Stone article published, accusing comedian Jimmy Fallon of creating a toxic work environment. And though it may seem like Masterson's sentencing and accusations against Fallon aren't related, they are.
Topher Grace and Conan O'Brien are being applauded by fans for staying mum about their past encounters with Masterson.
Though fellow co-star Topher Grace hasn't spoken out or made a statement, fans of the actor are applauding him. Along with Grace, comedian and TV host Conan O’Brien has remained silent about his past encounters with Masterson, with videos of Masterson appearing on Conan's show resurfacing.
Grace, who played Eric Forman on “That 70’s Show” alongside Kutcher, Kunis and Masterson, has remained silent on the recent actions of his former co-stars. And although somewhat indirectly involved in the situation, O’Brien has also remained silent as a clip from an interview conducted with Masterson resurfaced.
When high-profile cases like this rise into mainstream media, there always seems to be a crowd of people waiting to see how celebrities closest to the guilty party will react and, in this case, Kutcher and Kunis have reacted in the worst way possible, according to fans online.
Similarly, Grace and O'Brien have received praise for the way they're handling it — by saying nothing at all.
Vouching for a rapist’s character is contradictory, and speaks volumes about a person’s beliefs. When measured against the issues Kutcher and Kunis have been outspoken about, such as human trafficking and child sex exploitation, housing Ukrainian refugees in the invasion from Russia, and even COVID-19 relief efforts, it’s shocking to see the complete 180 in morality.
However, in Grace and O'Brien's cases, they've seemingly stayed true to themselves, highlighting the things they believe and letting their actions do the talking.
Grace and O’Brien have let their actions speak for themselves, in recent years and in the past.
In what appears to be a behind-the-scenes video for "That 70’s Show," Grace always kept to himself and never really “clicked” with the rest of the cast. Masterson, Kutcher, and Wilmer Valderrama would often go out and party together, but Grace would go home instead of going out with his co-stars.
Most recently, as the sentencing and news of the letters written by Kutcher and Kunis came out, Grace has remained silent, with his wife being the only one to comment on the matter by writing in an Instagram post, "To every rape victim that is retraumatized by witnessing society debate and focus their attention on what is going to happen to the rapist... I see you."
O’Brien, in an interview from 2004, made a comment that at the time seemed like a joke, but has caused major waves in its resurfacing.
Masterson tells a story about how his friend, when doing an impression of Masterson, would say, “Hi, my name is Danny Masterson would you like to touch my [testicles]?” When asked why Masterson would ask people that, all he said was, “I mean, you got them. You know what I mean?”
After his joke and some laughter from O’Brien and the crowd, O’Brien stops laughing and says, “I’ve heard about you, and you’ll be caught soon. I know you will.”
Masterson was first accused of sexual misconduct in 2017, but after an investigation performed by the LAPD, he was charged in 2020 with raping three women, including his former girlfriend, between 2001 and 2003.
Commenters have claimed that the resurfaced clip is proof that everyone knew the whole time, but that cannot be confirmed and O’Brien has not spoken about the subject.
Both Grace and O’Brien seem to have it figured out that they should not add more fuel to the fire and have always known the crowd that they keep. After all, this should be about justice for the victims and giving them their voices back.
O'Brien has always remained in the spotlight by staying out of it and not adding fuel to the fire.
Sometimes, the best thing to say is nothing at all, and O'Brien continues to do exactly that as talk show hosts all around him are being accused of hosting toxic workplace environments.
Most notably, Jimmy Fallon has recently had accusations lodged against him for the way he treats his employees. According to an exposé published by Rolling Stone, two current and 14 former staff have alleged that NBC's "The Tonight Show" has a toxic work environment.
Staff, including showrunners, alleged that they never knew the Fallon they would be working with that day, referring to him as having "good Jimmy days" and "bad Jimmy days." On bad days, he would allegedly "snap at crew members," "berate and belittle staffers," or have random outbursts.
O'Brien's response to the allegations? Nothing, and of course he's said nothing — he's not involved at all in the allegations and hasn't been involved in late night for years. However, people have used this opportunity to praise O'Brien, saying he would never behave the way Fallon has been accused of acting.
Although O'Brien often jokes about the hierarchy behind "Team Coco," the name he's dubbed their entire production team and production company, he's actually been known to treat all of his staff members with respect.
They're regularly featured on his YouTube channel and mentioned during shows.
His assistant, Sona Movsesian, even wrote a heartwarming post about him in 2021 when his show was ending, writing, "You’ve all seen mine and Conan’s dynamic on camera, but off camera he’s done so much more for me — he officiated my best friend’s wedding, wrote letters on my behalf when I was house shopping, introduced me to presidents and never balked when I chose the most expensive restaurant for us to eat at."
O'Brien seems like a humble guy, which is why he's been able to build up a loyal audience of people who look to him as a beacon in the space he once occupied.
Sophie Turner is another celebrity who has recently used the power of silence to her benefit.
In the midst of all the news surrounding Sophie Turner's divorce from Joe Jonas, the "Game of Thrones" actress has largely remained silent as the Jonas Brothers singer has seemingly launched a one-sided PR war with the mother of his two children.
Unconfirmed reports from "sources" have alleged that Turner is a bad mother who would often spend her free time out partying and shirking the responsibilities as a parent while Jonas was stuck doing the work as a father.
Many online have alleged that all of the rumors and reports being spread that are trying to paint a negative picture about Turner have come from the Jonas camp in an attempt to get ahead of the divorce and win public favor. All of this, however, has seemingly backfired.
Photo: @sophiet / @joejonas / Instagram
Turner, aside from an initial statement that came from both she and Jonas, has remained silent, not addressing any of the accusations or making any comments regarding anything else surrounding her divorce.
Since it seems like Jonas is waging a one-man war against someone who isn't defending herself, he's turned out to be the bad guy in the public's eyes.
It's also hard to paint the narrative that Turner is a "party mom" when, three years ago during an interview with — who would've guessed it — Conan O'Brien, she described herself as a homebody.
With the backlash against Kutcher and Kunis, a reckoning of sorts for Fallon, and scrutiny towards Jonas, in the end, sometimes, the best thing to say is nothing at all, ringing especially true for Grace, O'Brien, and Turner.
Because instead of making any type of statement regarding their co-stars, fellow comedians or soon-to-be-ex-husband, they've let their past actions speak for them. And it's a strong reminder that if you stay true to your morals and remain consistent, you'll never have to answer for the actions you've made in the past.
Anyone affected by sexual assault can find support on the National Sexual Assault Hotline, a safe, confidential service. Contact The Hotline or call 800-656-HOPE (4673) to be connected with a trained staff member.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor for YourTango who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.