Ashton Kutcher Backtracking on Paterno Comment

By Kevin Dolak | ABC News Blogs

Ashton Kutcher is backtracking after statements he made on Twitter regarding Penn State’s firing of head coach Joe Paterno led to outrage across the web.

The “Two and a Half Men” star quickly deleted a tweet posted to his account that read “How do you fire Jo Pa?  #insult #noclass as a hawkeye fan I find it in poor taste,” and has now halted all updates to his Twitter account, which has over eight million followers.

“As of immediately I will stop tweeting until I find a way to properly manage this feed. I feel awful about this error. Won’t happen again,” the actor tweeted late Wednesday.

The actor was responding to Penn State board of trustees announcement late Wednesday that Paterno, along with university president Graham Spanier, will be removed from their positions effective immediately.

Their firing stems from allegations that Jerry Sandusky, one of Paterno’s former assistants, sexually abused children over the past 15 years, and the two men didn’t fully report what they knew.

Kutcher’s response to the divisive issue sparked outrage amongst many of his followers. Many noted that his reaction to the scandal is surprising considering he and his wife Demi Moore run a nonprofit organization called The Demi and Ashton Foundation, which was set up to help end child sex slavery.