Looks like Ashton Kutcher isn't working on Lenovo smartphones after all

Ashton Kutcher Lenovo tablets
Ashton Kutcher is sticking with Lenovo tablets for now

Lenovo has sent TechRadar a statement clarifying that actor Ashton Kutcher is not helping the company develop smartphones.

This runs directly contrary to a report last week that claimed the That '70s Show, Punk'd and Jobs star was acting as a product engineer and directly influencing a new line of Lenovo phones.

The news was originally attributed to Lenovo Chief Marketing Officer David Roman, but now it seems he may have been misquoted or the information got lost mixed up along the way.

In reality, "the development agreement Lenovo has with Ashton Kutcher is for tablets only, and not for smartphones," Lenovo Executive Director of External Communications Ray Gorman told TechRadar in an email.

Punk'd and confused

Kutcher has been involved with the tech world for some time, having funded some big-name start-ups and co-founded an investment firm for that purpose.

He signed on with Lenovo in 2013 as a spokesperson and product engineer, helping out on the company's Yoga Tablet line.

In last week's report Roman was quoted as saying, "I know on one level, it sounds corny, but it is real … He not only sees himself as an engineer, but he is an engineer. If he sees a problem, he wants to solve it."

It seems that sentiment still applies, but only to Lenovo's tablets and not its smartphones.

We've asked Gorman for further clarification regarding this mix-up and will update here if hear back.

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Michael Rougeau

Michael Rougeau is a former freelance news writer for TechRadar. Studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, and Northeastern University, Michael has bylines at Kotaku, 1UP, G4, Complex Magazine, Digital Trends, GamesRadar, GameSpot, IFC, Animal New York, @Gamer, Inside the Magic, Comic Book Resources, Zap2It, TabTimes, GameZone, Cheat Code Central, Gameshark, Gameranx, The Industry, Debonair Mag, Kombo, and others.


Micheal also spent time as the Games Editor for Playboy.com, and was the managing editor at GameSpot before becoming an Animal Care Manager for Wags and Walks.