Damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.
Ashton Kutcher admitted he stood awkwardly next to Reese Witherspoon during red carpet events for their new film, “Your Place or Mine,” to avoid rumors about them having an affair.
“Here’s the thing: If I put my arm around her and was, like, all friendly with her, I’d be having an affair with her,” the actor, who is married to Mila Kunis, said on the “Chicks in the Office” podcast Monday.
“If I stand next to her and I put my hands in my pockets, so there’s no chance that, like, that could be the rumor, the rumor is we don’t like each other.”
Kutcher, 45, then clarified, “Reese and I are really good friends. We’re really close. I don’t have to defend that.”
The “Punk’d” alum also shared he is “hard of hearing,” so that combined with the photographer frenzy on the carpets may have played a factor in his unenthused face.
“I don’t know who’s yelling my name, but I know there’s a lot of people yelling, ‘Reese, Ashton, over here …’ and, at a certain point, you’re looking like, ‘God, this is really something’ … for like 20 minutes,” he explained.
“If you’re going to tell me in that entire 20 minutes, at one point, you’re not going to have an awkward face on, then you’re better than I am and I’m cool with that.”
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Kutcher and Witherspoon, 46, went viral over the weekend for their seemingly uncomfortable red carpet poses, in which the “Dude, Where’s My Car?” star had his hands in his pockets most of the time and the “Legally Blonde” actress stood rigidly beside him.
The images promoted even Kunis, 39, to take notice and say something to her spouse and friend.
“My wife called me, she texted Reese and I together, and she’s like, ‘Guys, you gotta act like you like each other,'” Kutcher said on the podcast.
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Witherspoon confirmed the conversation on the “Today” show, adding that she has actually known Kunis longer than she’s known Kutcher so it was “fun” to get to know her pal’s significant other.
The “Sweet Home Alabama” star, who is married to talent booker Jim Toth, also said of Kutcher, “He’s so professional. He’s the funniest guy. I mean, such a goofball. We had so much fun.”
“Your Place or Mine” premieres Feb. 10 on Netflix.
