Ashton Kutcher is already stirring up trouble at his new network. As the new star of "Two and a Half Men," Kutcher reportedly angered CBS when he allegedly promoted Foursquare, Flipboard, Hipmunk, GroupMe and Chegg on Monday's episode, using stickers with those companies' names on his character Walden Schmidt's laptop
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kutcher holds investment stakes in each of those properties and used his time on the show to promote the sites for free. The network reportedly wanted compensation for the airtime, though they are now downplaying the report.
"This was not part of any advertising transaction with CBS," a network rep tells E! News. "Our policy is to disclose such financial interests in a credit at the end of the broadcast."
The news comes as Kutcher and his wife, Demi Moore, are rumored to be having marital problems. Fox News reported that Kutcher and Moore have been spending time apart and that on Wednesday, the same day the news of the split broke, security was called to the couple's home. Kutcher allegedly had an affair with 23-year-old Sara Leal, who is reportedly trying to sell her story about the relationship.
While the pair has not directly commented on the rumors of a split, they have danced around them on Twitter. Late Wednesday night, perhaps as a reaction to all the gossip surrounding his personal life, Kutcher tweeted a link to the Public Enemy track "Don't Believe the Hype."
Meanwhile, Moore, still using the handle Mrs. Kutcher, had everyone speculating that she was ominously commenting on a split days ago in a flurry of tweets. One reads, "I see through you ...," and includes a photo of her laying in bed with her eyes closed.
Days before that, Moore tweeted, "When we are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself & study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger. — Epictetus."