Ashton Kutcher has insisted he does shower years after widespread debate about his bathing habits

Reflecting on the backlash years later, Ashton told PEOPLE magazine: "It was the craziest thing of all time.

"We made a comment at one point, and people were like, 'Does he stink? Does he smell?'"

Ashton was responding during a joint interview with The Beauty co-stars Anthony Ramos and Jeremy Pope, who weren't fully aware of the story.

He explained: "There was a comment on a podcast, so long ago... and people are like, 'They don't shower.' I'm like, 'I shower, I go to the gym, I shower!' "

Anthony laughed: "I can confirm my boy showers."

In 2021, Mila - who was born in the Soviet Union and moved to the US aged seven - and Ashton appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast.

She told friend Dax Shepard at the time: "I didn't have hot water growing up as a child, so I didn't shower much anyway."

She added: "But when I had children, I also didn't wash them every day.... I wasn't that parent that bathed my newborns - ever."

Ashton quipped: "Now, here's the thing: If you can see the dirt on them, clean them. Otherwise, there's no point."

Shortly after that interview, Mila tried to clarify her stance.

Appearing on 'The Ellen DeGeneres' show this week, Mila said: "It was on Dax [Shepard's] podcast and we were doing press...

"Somehow the conversation derailed into bathing habits and then we started talking about how we all don't bathe our children very often, and/or ourselves.

"Like, I shower every day, but I don't wash my hair every day. I don't find that to be a necessity."

She added that she intends to "bathe [her] children" every day, as she laughed off the controversy and explained the original conversation.

She said: "My intent every day is to bathe my children. I wake up every day and I'm like, 'Today I'm going to shower my kids.' "