Mila Kunis is facing a right-wing backlash online after revealing that she makes a monthly donation to Planned Parenthood in the name of Mike Pence, the US Vice President.

Kunis made the admission during a recent appearance on the talk show Conan to promote her new film, A Bad Moms Christmas. She said that she disagreed with some of Pence’s politics, and wanted to remind him that “there are women out there in the world that may or may not agree with his platform”.

“I put him on a list of recurring donations that are made in his name to Planned Parenthood,” said Kunis.

“Every month he gets a little letter that says: ‘An anonymous donation has been made in your name’.”

Pence is widely considered to be the driving force behind many of the Trump administration’s anti-abortion policy decisions. A devout Christian who has long worked to roll back abortion rights, the vice president vowed in 2016 that he would return Roe vs Wade (the landmark court ruling that legalised abortion across the US) to the “ash heap of history, where it belongs”.

President Donald Trump signed a law in April aimed at cutting off federal government funding to Planned Parenthood, the organisation that provides sexual health care for millions of men and women in the US (including contraception, pregnancy tests, STI tests and treatment, abortions and cancer screenings).

The move was decried as an attack on women by pro-choice campaigners in the US, with several of Kunis’ fellow actors speaking out against the decision.

Now, Kunis is being harangued online by Pence supporters and those who oppose abortion rights, with many saying they will boycott her films and the brands she is a spokesperson for – specifically, A Bad Moms Christmas and Jim Beam, a brand of whisky. 

A major US anti-abortion group, the Susan B Anthony List, also responded to Kunis’ protest by announcing that it was setting up a donation fund “for the pro-life cause in Vice President Mike Pence’s name”.

Pence responded by thanking the group “for all [it] does for life”.

However, it seems as though Kunis was aware that her protest could prove controversial when she appeared on Conan.

“I apologise if I’m offending anybody,” she said at the time, adding: “I don’t look at it as a prank. This is like, I strongly disagree, and this is my little way of doing it. It’s a peaceful protest.”

According to The Cut, Planned Parenthood received 82,000 donations in Mike Pence’s name in 2016 alone – and his office received a thank you note for every single one.

Images: Rex Features