The Internet Roasted Ashton Kutcher For Those Awkward Red Carpet Photos With Reese Witherspoon, But He Says There’s A Totally Reasonable Explanation Why It Happened

The latest romantic comedy pairing to sweep us off our feet just in time for Valentine’s Day is Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher from Netflix’s Your Place Or Mine. But the on-screen couple didn’t exactly sell their chemistry in real life when they posed for red carpet photos that the internet found very awkward. (Even Kutcher’s wife Mila Kunis called him out on it!) Following the photos going viral, the actor shared a very reasonable explanation for why he didn’t look the most comfortable during the photos.

Ashton Kutcher was asked about the awkward red carpet photos while on the Chicks In The Office (opens in new tab) podcast and got honest about why he didn’t look like he was having the time of his life in those recent press photos with his co-star. He also set the record straight about the state of his relationship with his co-star, Reese Witherspoon. In his words:

Reese and I are very good friends. We are very close. I don’t need to defend it. … I can’t hear very well. I am hard of hearing in one ear and I can only hear out of the other ear. I don’t know who is yelling my name, but I know that there are a lot of people who are ‘Reese, Ashton here!’ Look at this one, look at that one. And at a certain point you look and you’re like, ‘God, this is really something.’ OK, which one? Look at the camera, understand, OK. Are we done? Awesome, for about 20 minutes.

As the star pointed out, a red carpet isn’t exactly the most calming environment in which to smile broadly for a photo. Tons of photographers are essentially yelling your name to look to one side, all at the same time, and Ashton Kutcher can’t hear as well as he used to. So it might have been even more frustrating. As the actor continued:

If at some point in that entire 20 minute period you’re going to tell me you’re not going to put on an awkward face, then you’re better than me, and I’m cool with that.

He also pointed out that if he got too cozy with the actress in the photos, he would inevitably spark affair rumours, so there was really no winning there for him. It’s clear that celebrities find themselves on red carpets all the time and often just have to deal with the chaotic atmosphere for a good photo, but the That ’70s Show alum’s answer speaks to how weird it is inherently.

Ashton Kutcher has certainly been on a ton of red carpets throughout his career, but he’s been very out of his groove in recent years. This is mostly due to a medical episode in 2019 where he was diagnosed with a rare form of vasculitis and had to take a break to recover. The actor lost his vision, hearing and balance and had to work for about a year to get back into working order. As the actor recently shared, there was a time when he thought his acting career might be over, but he was able to overcome it and seems to be doing well now.

And despite those awkward red carpet photos, Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon got really personal for Your Place Of Mine, video-chatting with each other daily before filming to prepare to play long-distance best friends . Your Place Or Mine, which received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, is now available to stream with a Netflix subscription. You can definitely decide for yourself whether the latest romantic comedy pairing is cute together in the movie or the energy is present within those red carpet photos.