Ashton Kutcher's rise to woke-baeness truly came out of nowhere. We have his storybook romance with That 70s Show co-star Mila Kunis, his welcome message to refugees from the SAG Awards, and his amazing speech to the Senate.
Kutcher's received the Robert D. Ray Pilliar of Character Award on Saturday because of his "good character as a role model." Kutcher spent his speech, given at Ron Pearson Center in West Des Moines, thanking his wife and children for teaching him character. Kutcher, a native Iowan, has drawn praise for helping local schools and co-founding the Native Fund, which provides disaster relief for Iowa residents.
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He cited his early struggles — which included a felony burglary arrest for breaking into his high school, a widespread adultery accusation, and being pulled over while tripping on mushrooms — for helping him grow as a person.
"Because life doesn't happen to you, it happens for you. Every. Single. Time," he said during his remarks. "And as long as you have love and kindness and optimism and a pursuit of something greater in your heart, you're the lucky one. So this award is for you. It is for my family, it's for all four of my parents, it's for my wife, who kicks my ass on character every day."
Kutcher doubled down on his praise for Kunis.
"I mean, I'm telling you, this morning, I woke up and she kicked my ass on character," he said. "I thought I was awesome because I got up early and helped with the kids before she woke up and I let her sleep a little bit and then she's like, 'Well, now you're gonna act tired? I do it every day.' But it was a character moment, right? Because she's right!"
If possible, he gave his kids more credit that Kunis.
"But the greatest, greatest lesson in character in my life are my kids," he speech. "When I had these kids, my wife and I had these kids and we got to share that amazing, amazing, amazing honor, my first response was, I wanted to call my parents and say, 'I'm sorry, because I never knew how much you loved me.'"
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Awesome words from an apparently awesome dude.
Watch the speech below.