Someone asked me on Twitter this week if I thought, given James Franco’s Oscar “snub,” if Casey Affleck would have been snubbed for an Oscar nomination too, if only Manchester by the Sea had come out in 2017 instead of 2016. Since we’ll never really know, my best guess is that Affleck still would have had the Hollywood connections and he would have gotten the nomination, but all hell would have broken loose during the last stretch of the campaign. As I said, we’ll never really know, so we just have to live with the fact that the Academy voters handed the Best Actor Oscar to a guy who settled several sexual misconduct/harassment cases out of court. So now that we’re in the wake of #MeToo and women reclaiming their time and their voices, what’s a Gropey Affleck Bro to do? Run and hide. Casey Affleck won’t be presenting at the Oscars this year.
Casey Affleck has withdrawn from this year’s Oscars ceremony, where, if the Academy chose to follow tradition, he would have presented the best actress award.
Affleck won his best actor Oscar in 2017 for his role in Manchester by the Sea. Oscars tradition dictates that the previous year’s best actor winner presents the Oscar to the following year’s best actress recipient. But that tradition isn’t ironclad. At the 81st Oscars, for example, each of the acting awards were presented by a quintet of past Oscar winners, and Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd, who are producing this year’s show, have been considering departing from tradition when it comes to presenting the acting awards this year.
If Affleck were to participate in this year’s ceremony, his presence could have been problematic. During last year’s awards season, accusations of inappropriate behavior on his part on the set of 2010’s I’m Still Here resurfaced. That year, two women working on the film filed civil suits against Affleck, accusing him of sexual harassment. The actor denied the charges, and the suits were settled out of court and dismissed. But amid the current #MeToo movement, some had already begun to criticize the possibility that Affleck could participate in this year’s Oscar show.
Well… that’s sort of a letdown, right? Like, I was ready to fight about this. I was ready to scream at the TV when Casey came trotting out in the last 20 minutes of the show to present Best Actress. But he finally gets it: he’s not wanting. His presence would be distracting and ridiculous given everything that’s happened in the past four months. Is this a rare moment of self-awareness on his part? Perhaps. He doesn’t get a f–king cookie for doing this though.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Woooo! I’m guessing he was told to ‘resign’ from the occasion or he would be dismissed.
Appreciate the implicit knock on Damon’s mainsplainy clout as well.
Why would he get a cookie? I don’t think it’s self awareness in that he is thinking about the optics I think that it is self-preservation and that he doesn’t want to answer any further questions about what he has done.
I’m thinking a little from column A, a little from column B (maybe a tad more B). Smart move either way.
Either way…He can hide but the truth is out there running free. I hope all abusive men hide together in a hole and don’t find their way back out.
We can move on without all of them just fine, but we won’t forget.
I say — All hells combined hath no fury like women coming together to demand justice, respect and equality.
Yeah, my thought was that it was his cowardice, nothing more, that was driving this decision.
He’s hiding. He spent the entire campaign run last year being shielded from answering any questions. Big brother and bestie Matt pulled those strings for him, and now people actually don’t want to let him just skate by. It’s why he hasn’t come back to present a single thing this year. And you know what? I want him to answer the questions. He’s hidden long enough.
Yep, he’s a coward.
With you on this. He has hidden and slithered by far too easily, but there will be a time when he will have to answer.
Not so much self-awareness as self-preservation, I’m thinking. If he attended, he ran the risk of not having people clap, or even being booed. Heaven forbid he should have to publicly acknowledge that he’s a douchecanoe.
And Frances McDormand definitely wouldn’t have given him the usual thank you hug…
I really dont think Frances McDormand would, she doesnt play hollwood games and has no problem expressing her opinion.
Or better still imagine if the winner remained seated and refused to accept the award from him and he just had to stand there not knowing what to do.
It would be extra creepy if Frances McDormand wins, cause she plays a character whose daughter was raped. But I would love to see her reaction towards him.
Can you imagine? I’d like to think she’d call him out in her speech.
I think after Matt “everyone loves me” Damon got torn to shreds on comments alone, Creepy Affleck knew he was screwed.
I really thought they might try “scheduling conflicts” but I guess it’s too easy to verify that he’s not filming or whatever.
I am genuinely fascinated by how long it took Damon to shut the hell up.
I think we’re all a little fascinated by it. Like, didn’t anyone working for him in management or PR actually tell him at some point, “dude, shut up before you get completely eviscerated and ruin your public image?”
Then again, they did us a favor by letting Damon throw himself under the bus.
He is such a great example of the celebrity bubble. Part of Damon’s image is that he’s a ‘nice’ guy, and it’s like he lost all of his ability to be introspective. It’s crazy. It took a massive public backlash for him to just stop talking for once. What’s that they say about the confidence of a mediocre white man?
Yes why was Damon talking for so long. Damon’s talking was by far not the worst of Hollywood, but he just kept talking. Didn’t he know how he sounded?
Now as far as a viewing member I’m glad Casey Affleck isn’t at the Oscars. No cookies or anything for Casey Affleck, just thanks to the karma gods that I don’t have to see him when I watch the show.
I couldn’t get over it either. It was pathological his need to keep trying to figure out a way to be an authority and still maintain his aww shucks image while preemptive striking for the Afflecks or himself while distancing himself and being the good guy.
Hollywood bubble and a guy who thinks it is all about the sell and the game and not authenticity.
For so long he got it right and was given passes, and now he doesn’t have the muscles to sit down and observe.
I’m going to go with the idea that he knew that a storm would’ve come his way if he attended. I wouldn’t be surprised if the academy strongly suggest he not attend.
His Oscar win will forever have Brie Larson glaring at him in the back and coldly handing him the statue.
and keeping her hands by her side!!!
This is not self-awareness. This is pure self-preservation.
If he showed up you can bet that the accusations would get actual ink again and in the current climate he would not get away with it unscathed again. Currently, nobody is REALLY talking about him and this ensures that it stays that way.
Rapists are a bad look. They were still fine at the Globes, of course. Is the rule that they’re okay if they’re old, or if the victim is dead?
I’d like if a previous winner were to give the award. It would be sweet, and a lot more appropriate. And less barfy than affless.
I’ve always thought it was odd that the previous year’s winner wasn’t the one to announce the winner. Sort of like, a passing of the torch type of thing.
Because very often last year’s winner is nominated again. Four of the five Best Actress nominees have been nominated in the past with two of them repeats from last year (Saoirse, Meryl) and two of them previous winners. (Meryl, Frances) In the Best Actor, Denzel is a repeat from last year with two of the others also previously nominated (DDL, Oldman) and two of them previous winners (Denzel, DDL) Same thing is happening in the Supporting categories. They don’t want a situation of people having to present to themselves or even having to read their own nominations so they do the opposite
I am massively disappointed. I wanted the Academy to set out a statement to the effect of “Casey Affleck will not be part of the 2018 Oscar ceremony, as we do not feel it is appropriate given his past behaviour. While Mr Affleck has not been charged with anything, we want the members of the Academy and the wider public to know, WE BELIEVE THESE WOMEN”.
This was an opportunity for the Academy, to say quite dramatically, we have a zero tolerance on sexual abuse. It could have been there way of really drawing a line, with ACTIONS, after repeatedly honouring men who have been accused of horrific acts, showing the world that they will do better.
I guess I was being naive.
Agreed! That would have been poignant and had massive impact on the industry stance going forward.
Casey Affleck isn’t dumb and no one thinks he deserves a cookie, either. There is no indication this is self-awareness, either…lol. If he had any, he would have acknowledged what he had done and apologized for it. Self-preservation? How so? He will be fine.
I actually DMd the academy, telling them that he’d better not be there, because the backlash would be insane. I’m not saying it made a difference, but I think a lot of people have been telling them that he shouldn’t be there.
Coward. He could have come in after the show started and just show up onstage to present. I think there was some behind the scenes pressure from the Academy. I wanted him to be there for all of the awkwardness.
Isn’t taking a pardon admitting guilt?
Yes, it is- look up Joe Arpaio finding out that nasty little fact (that he had, in accepting his pardon, admitted his guilt) live on TV recently, if you want a laugh!
It’s different here though- Casey wasn’t pardoned, he settled. Now, we can say, if he was innocent, why settle? And to be clear, I don’t think he was innocent. BUT, you can’t automatically say if you settled it’s an outright admission of guilt, not the way you can with someone who took a pardon. It’s not the same thing.
Many shocking, so surprise. If I were to choose, I’d probably call Ryan Gosling to step in for him. In part because I like him, in part because, if Saoirse Ronan wins, he’ll pronounce her name correctly.
It’s most likely to be a past winner and one of the old guard. I’d put my money on Tom Hanks, or maybe Denzel.
He is just trying to preserve his career by staying hidden. He has no self-awareness, he is just a selfish douche.
+1
That deadline article was too sympathetic to him for my taste.
Also, Affleck gets no cookie from me for sure. He’s only doing this so he doesn’t draw more attention to his cases. He’s been completely brazen and unapologetic about his actions; case in point he had his lawyer respond to Armie Hammer’s comments about him.
His presence is more than distracting. The people of the Oscars, if they’ve been paying attention, would recognize that having him would bring a lot of backlash. They already struggle with ratings. Don’t alienate their audience…which my guess is mostly women.
Coward. He was scared of the reaction. He knew damn well that he would’ve been dragged all over the place.
But Brie Larson hugged him and gave him a peck on cheek when he won the Oscar
She’s gone on record saying she consciously chose not to clap for him when he won.
And he went in to hug her first, I don’t remember seeing any peck on the cheek there.
yes, let’s drag a woman in a post about a man. god you people are miserable.
It was one person who said that. What is this ‘you people’ ish?
Brie stepped-up a lot sooner than most of these well established actresses and she had a lot more to lose by doing so.
It isn’t on Brie’s shoulders to handle him or make a scene. I don’t see how that is even important. She made her statement.
Chickensh*t.
But good that he won’t be there.
Unfortunately he will always have that Oscar, but I sincerely hope that his career tanks. He is not an individual who will ever find the humanity to understand why he was not wanted at this year’s ceremony. Meanwhile, I will enjoy my little fantasy of Gal kicking his ass backstage, then Frances McDormand standing over his body giving him an epic tongue lashing.
Good riddance to bad rubbish. It’s bad enough he has that trophy but can he now go the way of Adrien Body/into deserved obscurity, please?
I’m glad this was handled without any fighting. Because there are bigger issues to save out energy fighting for. He knew not to show his face and the Academy knew not to let present. Now we can all move on and leave this douche to the annals of Oscars past. Now let’s focus on why Gary Oldman has been given a pass and how the Academy and Hollywood is essentially making the same mistake twice by nominating an abusive misogynist for Best Actor
Oldman’s case is confusing to me. I think it’s one of those cases that perhaps doesn’t need a public response. He was given sole custody of his kids. That doesn’t mean the abuse allegations were false, but it changes the picture. I don’t feel comfortable taking sides on that one unless there’s something I’m missing.
It’s not JUST his case with his ex though. He’s said some really questionable stuff in interviews, and some of it was relatively recently, it wasn’t years and years ago. I’m not knowledgeable enough about this,I don’t really follow anything to do with his career, but people on here have been linking to stuff about him that’s really opened my eyes to ol’ Gary. Google his “Playboy” interview- that’s one I DO know about, and it leaves a nasty taste in your mouth to read.
They need to do something highly visible after the everyone wear black Globes and the all-female presenters SAGs …. since it’s the Oscars my guess is they will stuff the ceremony full of previous female winners. Of course, that will just highlight how many awards only go to men.
I feel like the other awards usually make a lot of political/social statements according to the climate & by Oscar’s time it’s business (mostly) as usual. Last year all awards were heavily politicized but not the Oscars.
The Oscars has a “no political speech” policy and they warn nominees they will be played off if they get political. The policy has been in place since the Marlon Brando/Vanessa Redgrave incidents and very few have violated it.
I don’t think they can ignore it this year because the movie industry is at the centre of it. It’s been an earthquake in Hollywood and it’s ongoing. They don’t like presenters going wildly off script like Sarandon & Robbins but people say broadly ‘political’ things in speeches at the Oscars all the time.
Jennifer Todd, one of the two producers of the Oscars, is president or some key role in Ben and Matt’s production company. I’m sure there was a meeting that discussed the best path here, given Matt’s recent problems.
Yes, she’s president of Pearl Street films, their production company. I’d be willing to bet this isn’t him avoiding, but being told he couldn’t do the show, and the Oscars giving him the option of seeming like it was his decision.
It would have been really silly of him to expose himself to all the harassment chatter just to present an award. Although now there’s so much chatter because he won’t be presenting it. So I’m not sure if it was a goor or a bad move from a PR point of view.
It doesnt “change the picture” one bit. Because one can still be an abusive *sshole and have a drug addict as a spouse. But my big issue with Oldman is his longstanding support of racist and homophobic comments. Not only his own but others’ as well. His defensing of Mel Gibson is a prime example. A man who wished that his ex would be raped, used racial slurs and had a habit of groping women. Oldman himself has made questionable comments. So aside from the abuse allegations? He’s a racist POS. And a misogynist to boot. And I say all of this as someone who has was a HUGE Oldman fan until I started reading his interviews.
I think you wrote this in the wrong post, my friend.
Yes, it’s totally possible that she was abused & lost the custody because she had an addiction. Still, what I’m trying to say is that I don’t feel comfortable making a definitive stance on a case like this. The vast majority of domestic violence/sexual assault cases have merit, & I generally side with the victim. But this doesn’t mean there are no cases where we can say “we can’t be certain”.
I agree with the rest of your comment regarding his racist & homophobic interviews.
THANG GOD! At least he has good sense.. that’s the only positive thing I can say about him.
Good, I’m glad he won’t be there. At least that shows he or someone close by has some freaking awareness that his behavior is NOT OK.
But, enough about overpaid and undertalented hollywood types because Metoo really is starting to have far reaching — and long overdue — effects. I don’t think this would have happened even a year ago. Needless to say the overwhelming majority of women who are abused/harassed/violated are not celebrities:
http://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/2130483/philippine-president-rodrigo-duterte-threatens-middle-east
I have always found more truth in judging people by their actions, not their words. Billy Bush, James Franco etc have said they regret their past behaviour, so I will watch to see if they do something to change.
But Casey- the Oscars is the biggest platform he could possibly have. He could stand up and make a speech, give a donation, apologize whatever. The action displayed by not going is the loudest message of “no regrets/cowardice” he could make.
Also, he was the worst dressed person last year and he could have tried to pull himself together and look decent this year to make amends for his fashion crime. Still no regrets, no shame, no awareness from him.
Those Affleck boys are gross! They both need to just go away. Bye Felisha!
I kind of feel like Casey Affleck not showing up to present is akin to Woody Harrelson not showing up to the Golden Globes. Why pour gasoline on the fire when you know the embers are bound to catch up to you at some point? Fly under the radar for as long as possible, sh*t birds.