Ashton Kutcher reportedly isn’t thrilled over the downwardturn his public life has taken in the wake of Danny Masterson‘s rape conviction. The 45-year-old actor, who wrote a letter in support of his That ’70s Show pal before his sentencing, seems to have a history of hanging out with controversial characters.
Former Rabbi Yehuda Berg, who used to head up the Kabbalah Centre International and was the officiant at Kutcher’s 2005 wedding to Demi Moore, has a less-than-stellar reputation. Berg and the religious organization were hit with a $55 million civil lawsuit in 2014 by Kabbalah member Jena Scaccetti. She accused the married rabbi of unwanted sexual advances after she visited him at his mother’s New York apartment. He reportedly tried to ply her with alcohol and Vicodin as well. The case went to trial and a Los Angeles Superior Court jury found that Berg “was liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress,” according to the Los Angeles Daily News.
The disgraced religious leader was ordered to pay Scaccetti $85,000 while the Kabbalah Centre International had to cough up $42,500 because they “negligently supervised Berg.” She also received an additional $50,000 because the jury believed that Berg acted with malice.
The plaintiff was relieved with the outcome because she claimed in court that he not only “threatened her harm and even death” if she shared the incident with anyone, but he also seized her phone and deleted all her text messages” before she was allowed to leave. “You’re so weak, you’re so weak. I promise I’ll do things that don’t get you pregnant,” she shockingly shared in her court testimony, via RadarOnline. “I really thought this guy was capable of healing me in some way, and he’s fully trying to take advantage of me.”
Kutcher, who reportedly left Kabbalah in the wake of the rabbi’s scandal, may want to start screening his future friends because his inner circle seemed quite problematic.
Before you go, click here to see the most important celebrity lawsuits over the past 15 years.
Leave a Comment