Casey Affleck Responds To That Controversy

When the Manchester by the Sea actor took home the Best Actor Oscar on Sunday February 26, many people reacted negatively. After all, the star had not addressed previous accusations leveled against him. But, in a new interview with The Boston Globe taking place after the 89th Academy Awards and the actor's victory, Casey Affleck responded to the sexual harassment allegations conversation that has been surrounding him, especially on the lead-up to the Oscars.

In 2010, a lawsuit was filed against Affleck by two women who had worked with him on the film I'm Still Here. According to The Daily Beast, these women were film producer Amanda White, who claimed Affleck physically and verbally abused her, and cinematographer, Magdalena Gorka, who claimed Affleck had climbed into her bed and massaged her back without her permission. The actor denied the allegations, and a 2010 statement from his lawyer quoted by People read, "The allegations brought upon our clients are preposterous and without merit." Eventually, he settled with both women out of court for an undisclosed sum.

Of the allegations, he told Variety in 2016:

“People say whatever they want. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how you respond... I guess people think if you’re well-known, it’s perfectly fine to say anything you want. I don’t know why that is. But it shouldn’t be, because everybody has families and lives.”

But now, after the backlash over his Best Actor Oscar win, Affleck is speaking out about the response to his win and the resurgence of the allegations.

When The Boston Globe asked Affleck about the controversy in a recent interview, the reporter claimed Affleck "paused and sighed heavily" and then the actor continued:

"I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent, 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."

His response seems rather vague, but it's more than Affleck has said about the situation in almost a year. Whether that's enough to satisfy his detractors remains to be seen, but it doesn't change the fact that this statement comes after Affleck has been awarded the highest possible acting award Hollywood can grant him.