There’s nothing we like more than a great comeback. And Ashton Kutcher may have outdone everyone with his witty riposte to one salacious gossip column.

Few things can make a celebrity’s life a living hell quite like gossip magazines. Indeed, from paparazzi attention to scandalous rumors, the tabloids are the bane of any showbiz star. But when one publication printed some unfounded tittle-tattle about Ashton Kutcher, the actor decided enough was enough. And his hilarious response put the haters in their place.

By any measure, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis’ relationship could have been ripped straight from the script of a Hollywood romance. Fittingly, the pair became acquainted in 1998 after being cast as boyfriend and girlfriend – Kelso and Jackie, respectively – on That ’70s Show. And it was with Kutcher, in front of the camera, that the then 14-year-old Kunis had her first ever kiss.

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However, it wasn’t instantly obvious that the two would become an item. Due to their age difference, Kutcher, who was 19 at the time, looked at his co-star in a more platonic fashion. As he explained to infamous radio host Howard Stern in 2017, “I did her chemistry homework for her… She was 14! She was like my little sister.”

After That ’70s Show ended, the duo went their separate ways. In 2005 Kutcher married actress Demi Moore – a union that warranted close scrutiny from the tabloid press. Meanwhile, Kunis enjoyed an equally high-profile relationship with Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin from 2002.

Nevertheless, neither of these partnerships was destined to be. And in 2012 – a year after each broke up with their respective companion – the two began to date. And within four years, Kutcher and Kunis would officially become man and wife as well as parents to two children, Wyatt and Dimitri.

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Perhaps inspired by having their previous romances placed under the microscope, the pair didn’t make their relationship public until 2014. Indeed, Kutcher admitted as much to Elle in 2013. “I’ve learned that there are a lot of things in your life that really benefit from being private,” he said. “And relationships are one of them.”

Despite their desire to live a quiet life together, Kutcher and Kunis still had to contend with the paps knocking at their door. After all, as one of Hollywood’s leading celebrity couples, the partners naturally elicited strong media attention. Moreover, their pursuit of privacy led some publications to draw wild and crazy conclusions.

And nowhere was this more in evidence than in June 2017 when a photographer caught Kutcher in a seemingly dubious situation. While out and about in Los Angeles, the paparazzo spotted the Two and a Half Men star boarding a private jet with a woman who appeared to be Kunis. But closer inspection revealed that his companion was a different person entirely.

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Soon after, the compromising photos were bought by the staff of Star magazine who ran with a rather salacious story in their next issue. Beneath a shocking headline that asked “Who’s the girl?” the pictures painted a damning portrait of Kutcher very publicly caught in the act. Moreover, the publication even alleged that the pair were alone on the plane.

Of course, this isn’t the only time that the actor has been accused of cheating. During his marriage to Demi Moore, Kutcher was hounded by accusations of infidelity by the gossip columns. In particular, Us Weekly ran a titillating story in 2011 claiming that the star played around with two women on the night of his wedding anniversary.

What’s more, these accusations didn’t stop with Kutcher’s first marriage. In fact, OK! magazine even ran a similar story regarding Kutcher and Kunis a few months prior to Star’s so-called scoop. In it, OK! claimed that Kunis was concerned about a tryst between her hubby and his The Ranch co-star Elisha Cuthbert.

In many cases, most stars don’t pay columns like these any notice – unless the story gets massive attention, that is. However, Kutcher was a different case entirely. After becoming aware of the article, the actor wasn’t too pleased with the allegations. And, naturally, he wouldn’t take such rumors lying down.

Taking to Twitter, Kutcher shared a picture of the offending magazine page with his millions of followers. And – much to the surprise of his fans – the star admitted that the magazine had indeed caught an affair in progress. However, what the photographer snapped was more of a family affair than grounds for divorce.

In actual fact, the mystery brunette was none other than Kutcher’s cousin who just happened to be hanging out with her favorite relative. Nevertheless, the actor went along with the story’s insinuation in a witty riposte to the cheating rumors. “You should have heard how upset Mila was that I spent the day with our cousin,” he wrote.

And while his comeback may have been instantly memorable, the star was far from done. In fact, he finished the tweet by questioning the publication’s ethics as well as apologizing to his family for inadvertently involving them with the gutter press. “Sorry Aunt Jodie,” the actor continued, “these magazines lack integrity.”

Taking a shot at the tabloids can have serious consequences, but fortunately Kutcher’s followers were behind him. Soon after he posted the image, his fans flocked to the comments section to congratulate him for taking a stand. “Way to call [out] #fakenews,” replied one follower.

Others voiced a similar disdain for the ethics of such magazines. “They just assume it’s a mistress and don’t even think like, ‘Oh yeah, he has a family like everyone else,’” chimed in Jungfook1. “They just want to make money off of drama. I hate those mags!”

But despite the uproar that his tweet caused, Kutcher didn’t let the article bother him too much. And the actor – who is an active fighter for human rights causes – reminded his fans that some things in life are more important than others. “If we’re going to fight battles they might as well be the ones that change the world,” he tweeted a couple of hours later.

Interestingly enough, this isn’t the only time that the star has commented publicly on such damaging claims. Earlier in 2017, Kutcher even referenced his supposed infidelity against Moore while collecting the Robert D. Ray Pillar of Character Award in April. “Character comes when those magazines tear you apart for something you may or may not have done,” he stated.

Despite the negative press, it seems that everything’s going A-OK in the Kutcher-Kunis camp. In fact, the latter told E! News that her other half was “the world’s greatest husband.” And while it may be easy to get sucked into celebrity gossip, we guess that you just can’t believe everything that the papers say.