The actor-turned-venture capitalist takes it to Twitter to address the controversy, 'Hope we can find space to be wrong in the pursuit of getting it right.'
- Jul 9, 2017
AceShowbiz - Ashton Kutcher landed in hot water ahead of his "live open dialogue about gender equality in the workplace." The actor-turned-venture capitalist was called out over the questions he planned to ask during the talk. He got lukewarm feedback. Many found them offensive and he was quick to respond.
Those questions posted on his LinkedIn profile included "What advice should we be giving to female entrepreneurs?", "What are the rules for dating in the work place? Flirting? What are the clear red lines?", and "Should investors invest in ideas that they believe to have less merit so as to create equality across a portfolio?"
Paradigm CEO Joelle Emereson was one of those unimpressed with Kutcher's questions, "Yikes. These are definitely not the right questions. Most rely on flawed assumptions and perpetuate problematic myths." Another wrote, "Aston, you embarrass yourself for a very good reason. Your questions tell me more (again) about how you perceive women, not how women are! Please pull together the correct questions, and a dialogue that deals with the issue, instead of reiterating the sexist view in the workplace will begin to heal us."
Mashable's Emma hinchliffe commented, "The question 'What are the clear red lines?' is less about supporting gender equality, and more about protecting powerful men from accusations of sexual harassment or misconduct."
In response, the father of one tweeted, "Thank you everyone for the feedback on the questions I posted on LinkedIn. Good and bad. Already a learning experience." He added, "I've already offended some folks by asking the wrong questions. I'm certain given the sensitivity of the topic I will say other things wrong."
"Hope we can find space to be wrong in the pursuit of getting it right," he concluded. "We have centuries of ground to make up in a short order & I don't want the basics to be off limits. some clearly don't yet get the basics."
Yikes. These are definitely *not* the right questions. Most rely on flawed assumptions and perpetuate problematic myths. pic.twitter.com/vUF1CVBcOt
— Joelle Emerson (@joelle_emerson) July 7, 2017
thank you everyone for the feedback on the questions I posted on LinkedIn. Good and bad. Already a learning experience.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) July 7, 2017
Hope we can find space to be wrong in the pursuit of getting it right.
— ashton kutcher (@aplusk) July 7, 2017
