Diddy and Ashton have been friends for about 20 years (Image: (Image: Getty))

Ashton Kutcher and Diddy have been friends for two decades, but their relationship has reportedly cooled in recent months amid the rapper’s legal issues

Starting in the 2000s, Ashton Kutcher and Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs became close friends with the rapper explaining they “got together and then we became the rat pack, you know, the new rat pack.”

They originally met as MTV stars when Ashton was the frontman for the show Punk’d and Diddy was having musicians early in their career to head out to Brooklyn to grab him a slice of cheesecake.

During a 2018 episode of The Late Late Show With James Corden, the two recalled their very first phone call. Diddy said, at the time: “I gave him a call one day and I said, ‘I heard that you’re gonna Punk me and I just don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Ashton then chimed in: “I think it was some version of ‘If you do that, that will not end well for you. But I think we should work out a deal.”

Kutcher confessed details about the legendary parties that are now causing a stir for Diddy, remarking, “If you’re a single man, there’s probably no greater human being in the world to hang out [with]. This is 20 years ago-19 years ago. We were having a lot of fun together.”

The pair originally met through MTV’s Punk’d ( Image: (Image: Getty))

Yet, when Kutcher appeared on the hit series Hot Ones in 2019, he was more tight-lipped about those raucous evenings with Diddy. Host Sean Evans prodded for anecdotes about the New Yorker’s bashes, but Kutcher demurred.

“I’ve got a lot I can’t tell,” he confessed, pausing before adding, “I can’t tell that one either.” Their bond wasn’t just about the high life and mingling (although that played a significant role); it also profoundly influenced their careers.

In 2006, Kutcher revealed that his friendship with Diddy was a factor in his decision to join the cast of Guess Who.

“Our friendship has helped me become aware of the fact that people are becoming comfortable with something that’s still very uncomfortable,” he observed, alluding to the narrative of the original movie where Sidney Poitier’s character, who is Black, meets his white fiancee’s family.

Ashton spoke up about his time at Diddy’s parties ( Image: (Image: Getty))

“When I was hanging out with Sean, people did not understand why this Iowa farm kid went out with this hip-hop mogul from New York,” Kutcher reflected. “But it wasn’t that he was a hip hop mogul and I was a farm kid; it was because he was Black and I was white. It was that simple. If he was a white hip hop artist from New York, nobody would have noticed.”

Yet, it seems the once close bond between the stars is now on ice. The Daily Mail reports that Kutcher has been stepping back in light of Diddy’s recent legal troubles and the surge of lawsuits and accusations against him.

“There is no way in hell Ashton or [wife] Mila [Kunis] will be showing any sort of public support for Diddy right now,” an insider claimed, further revealing, “Regardless of Ashton’s long history with him, he has distanced himself from Diddy since Cassie’s lawsuit, and even more so in the wake of the new ones.”

‘Regardless of Ashton’s long history with him, he has distanced himself from Diddy since Cassie’s lawsuit, and even more so in the wake of the new ones. ‘ the informant divulged.

‘Mila will not let Ashton be in any sort of contact. He is expecting a subpoena as they have been friends for two decades.’

As of the story going live, there are no indications that Kutcher is implicated in any of the legal actions facing Diddy.

Diddy has been embroiled in serious accusations ranging from sexual abuse and harassment to sex trafficking, amid a plethora of civil legal battles one notably with his ex-producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones. His former love interest, Cassie Ventura, took her allegations out of the public eye with an out-of-court settlement.

Diddy denies all allegations of wrongdoing against him ( Image: (Image: Getty))

Adding to his recent woes, Homeland Security launched raids on his properties in both Miami and Los Angeles earlier in the month.

His vehement denial came through statements made by his attorney Aaron Dyer, who described the raids as an “unprecedented ambush” and lambasted them as a “witch hunt.”

“There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations,” Dyer asserted. “Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name.”

Diddy continues to deny all allegations of wrongdoing against him.