Casey Affleck, previously accused of sexual harassment, isn't presenting the best actress award at the 2018 Oscars
- It's Oscars tradition that the winner for best actor the year before presents the best actress award.
- But in January, Casey Affleck withdrew from presenting the best actress award at the 2018 Oscars.
- Affleck has been accused of sexual harassment, and likely withdrew due to the #MeToo movement.
Casey Affleck is not presenting the award for best actress at the 2018 Oscars ceremony Sunday night, breaking a long tradition. Instead, Jodie Foster and Jennifer Lawrence will present the award.
Affleck, who won the Oscar for best actor last year for his role in "Manchester by the Sea," was accused of sexual harassment on the set of the 2010 film "I'm Still Here." He likely withdrew from the ceremony as a result of the #MeToo movement.
An Academy spokesman confirmed the report of Affleck's withdrawal to Business Insider in January: "We appreciate the decision to keep the focus on the show and on the great work of this year." A representative for Casey Affleck did not respond to a request for comment.
In 2010, two women who worked on "I'm Still Here," which Affleck directed, sued him alleging sexual harassment. The women claimed that Affleck crept into one of their beds, routinely demeaned them, and encouraged the movie's crew to harass them as well. Affleck denied the allegations and threatened to counter-sue, before eventually settling, according to The Daily Beast.
In an interview with the Boston Globe after his Oscar win in 2017, Affleck said those involved in the lawsuits, including himself, were barred from commenting on them, and that the public didn't know the full details of the cases.
"I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent," Affleck said. "And everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else. There's really nothing I can do about it, other than live my life the way I know I live it and to speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time."
It is an Oscars tradition that the best actor for the previous year hands out the award to the new best actress winner.
At the 2017 ceremony, Brie Larson, who won the best actress Oscar in 2016 for her role in "Room," announced and handed out the award to Affleck. Judging by the look on her face when she announced he was the winner, she was not happy. Larson did not clap for Affleck, which she told Vanity Fair was intentional.
"I think that whatever it was that I did onstage kind of spoke for itself," Larson said. "I've said all that I need to say about that topic."