What Ashton Kutcher Has Said About Ex Brittany Murphy Since Her Death

"Clueless" star Brittany Murphy passed away on December 20, 2009 after being found unresponsive in her home. The actor's cause of death was listed as pneumonia, although alternate theories about Brittany Murphy's mysterious death have been considered, and were even floated in a docuseries. In hindsight, she reached the height of her fame years prior, in the early 2000s, when Murphy starred in hits like "8 Mile" and "Just Married." She reportedly also dated both of her co-stars in those films, Eminem and Ashton Kutcher. The truth about Brittany Murphy's relationship with Ashton Kutcher was confusing, making it hard for him to even define at the time, but they began their romance after filming for "Just Married" had wrapped and dated for just under a year in total. 

Even though it was short-lived, their relationship holds a prominent place in pop culture history, due to her tragic death at just 32. And happily, the "Punk'd" host has only had positive things to say about his former partner after her untimely death. Reacting to the sad news on X, formerly known as Twitter, Kutcher wrote, "2day the world lost a little piece of sunshine. My deepest condolences go out 2 Brittany's family, her husband, & her amazing mother Sharon [...] See you on the other side kid," (via Parade). 

A few months later, he reflected on his memories of her in an interview with ABC News' "Nightline," sharing, "[Murphy] was like the person who walked in the room and she was always the first person to dance. You know when you go to a party and everybody is standing around, and the music is going — and you know sooner or later everyone is going to dance. [...] And I just try to connect to that and celebrate who she was."

Elsewhere during his "Nightline" appearance, in 2010, Ashton Kutcher clarified that while he wasn't in regular touch with ex-girlfriend Brittany Murphy before her death, they met up just a couple of months beforehand, to discuss her playing a part in a TV show that he was producing. As for the "Uptown Girls" star's feelings about Kutcher, she predictably gushed about him in interviews around the time they were dating. "He's one of the kindest humans I've ever met," Murphy proudly informed MTV News (via SheKnows) while promoting "Just Married." The late actor elaborated, "He's really like Forrest Gump or something. He's an extraordinary person."

But, after they broke up, Murphy was asked about her ex's then relatively new relationship with Demi Moore on the "Late Show with David Letterman." "I suppose the crux of their relationship basically means to him that age doesn't matter and to her size doesn't matter," she quipped, supposedly taking a dig at his manhood. The "Girl, Interrupted" star quickly reasoned that she was just kidding, of course, but it still stood out, especially because only moments before, Murphy claimed that she had long learned not to talk about her romantic relationships publicly. 

Ashton Kutcher's exes have plenty to say about him, so she isn't alone. But, although the "No Strings Attached" star was gracious to Murphy after her death, the actor's joke might mean that there were some hard feelings immediately following their breakup.