Affleck to skip Oscars
ACTOR Casey Affleck has withdrawn from presenting this year’s best actress Oscar amid concern about sexual harassment allegations.
“We appreciate the decision to keep the focus on the show and on the great work of this year,” a spokesman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said.
As last year’s best actor winner, for Manchester by the Sea, Affleck was due to present the best actress gong at the March 4 ceremony.
His withdrawal follows the re-emergence of accusations of sexually abusive conduct on the set of 2010 movie I’m Still Here, which he directed.
The allegations were filed in lawsuits against Affleck by producer Amanda White and director of photography Magdalena Gorka and were settled before the film’s release.
Affleck told the Boston Globe both sides in the case were prohibited from commenting.
“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,” he said.
His decision to skip the Oscars comes as the anti-sexual harassment movement, embodied by the #MeToo campaign, shows no sign of abating.
A Care2 petition calling on the Academy to not let Affleck present the best actress award had gathered nearly 20,000 signatures.