Ashton Kutcher Explains Reason Behind Awkward Reese Witherspoon Red Carpet Photos

The actors star alongside each other in the Netflix rom-com 'Your Place or Mine.'

Ashton Kutcher is just trying to take a picture with his friend! During a recent appearance on the Chicks in the Office podcast, the Your Place or Mine star was asked about the now viral photos of him and co-star Reese Witherspoon during the movie’s premiere. 

According to the internet -- and his wife, Mila Kunis -- the co-stars of the Netflix rom-com look “awkward" in the photos that were taken at the premiere.  

"My wife called me. She texted Reese and I together. She’s like, 'Guys, you gotta, like, act like you like each other.' And I’m like, 'What’s going on?'" he said of the pics from the carpet that show him and Witherspoon standing side by side with no contact at all.  

"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 rumor would be that I’m having an affair with her," the 45-year-old actor said. 

"If I stand next to her, 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. Reese and I are really good friends. We’re really close. I don’t have to defend that. I don’t have to defend it." 

Kutcher added that with the combination of all the cameras flashing and photographers screaming, he simply is there to get the moment over. Through it all, he knows there is going to be one awkward photo -- and he's fine with that. 

Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images

"If you’re gonna tell me in that entire 20-minute period 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," he continued.  

On Monday, Witherspoon confirmed that Kunis emailed her and Kutcher about the hilarious moment.  

"She even emailed us last night," Witherspoon said on Today With Hoda & Jenna. "She goes, 'You guys look so awkward on the red carpet together.' It’s just fun ‘cause when you know a girlfriend so much, it was just fun to get to know her significant other 'cause I’ve loved her for so long." 

In the film, Witherspoon -- who is married to Jim Toth -- and Kutcher play friends who take their relationship to the next level, after a decade of knowing each other. Last month, Kutcher dished to ET about finally having the chance to work with Witherspoon.

"What was wild was for years and years and years I was like, 'Oh man, I'd love to do a romantic comedy with Reese,'" Kutcher told ET, before revealing that he got a phone call one day about the project and before he even read the script, "I was like, 'Let's stop everything. I'm doing it.'" 

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