I like Constance Wu and I like that she DGAF about leading public discussions on somewhat tricky conversations, like Asian representation in Hollywood, or general whitewashing, or how there should be a bigger backlash against Casey Affleck. That’s where we are now that the Oscar nominations have come out. People are looking at the nominations and realizing, “Oh, right. Casey Affleck is the lead contender for this year’s Best Actor Oscar.” As we’ve discussed, Casey Affleck was accused of sexual harassment by two women several years ago, and he settled out of court in both cases. Many have wondered why Casey hasn’t gotten even a fraction of the backlash that Nate Parker received, and many (myself included) think it’s because he’s a white guy with substantial connections and privilege. So in the month in between now and the Oscars, will there be a sustained campaign AGAINST Casey? Constance Wu hopes so.
As anticipated, Casey Affleck received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for Manchester by the Sea this morning. The news served as evidence to some that multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him and a related lawsuit have been successfully swept under the rug, at least in the Academy’s eyes (Affleck has previously denied all allegations against him, and settled the suits out of court for an undisclosed sum). Fresh Off the Boat actress Constance Wu, however, is not about to let the viewing public forget the accusations against Affleck, who is now being celebrated for his talent. “Men who sexually harass women 4 OSCAR! Bc good acting performance matters more than humanity, human integrity! Bc poor kid rly needs the help!,” the actress tweeted sardonically.
In a longer post, she expounds further: “He’s running for an award that honors a craft whose purpose is examining the dignity of the human experience & young women are deeply human.” Wu calls on voting organizations to recognize their role in condoning award recipients’ actions. “It signifies said committee’s awareness of the harmful oversights it may have unknowingly participated in in the past, and the respect and dignity to learn from the past, not to repeat it and not to use it as an excuse to reinforce the industry’s gross and often hidden mistreatment of women.” Wu concludes by acknowledging that she’s been told not to speak about the matter: “I’ve been counseled not to talk about this for career’s sake. F my career then, I’m a woman & human first. That’s what my craft is built on.”
You can see Constance’s Twitter here (I’m embedding the main tweet below). I follow her argument and I agree with her – while Casey Affleck isn’t running for president, he’s “running” to win an award. He’s campaigning. And not just that, he’s so far ahead of the rest of the pack, I don’t think any kind of “backlash” will undo his lead. But it’s still g—damn important to have the conversation, even if he still wins, even if nothing really happens besides the conversation. Because most women know what it feels like – or they know someone who knows what it feels like – to be harassed in the workplace. To be made to feel small and insignificant and powerless, to feel like you have to make a choice between condemning some douchebag’s behavior versus having a job. Of course, while this year’s Oscars are historic in their diversity, they’ve also nominated another known abuser: Mel Gibson, who admitted in a court declaration that he slapped his then-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva.
Here's a thing I wrote during an convo w/ @PeterShinkoda about how Casey Affleck's win will be a nod to Trump's. pic.twitter.com/FjrRsniS9d
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) January 24, 2017
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I’m not watching the Oscars this year thanks to nominations for Creepy Affleck and Gibson. Was there work good? Apparently. Doesn’t mean I have to support fawning over them. Their films got made, anything else is just Hollywood showing its ass.
I saw Manchester By The Sea (not in the theater, thank God, I would have asked for my money back. Too bad I can’t get back my time I spent watching it) I didn’t find Casey’s performance that great. I didn’t find the film that great either. They’re just giving awards away it seems. Maybe they want Casey to finally step out of the shadows of his big brother.
I have affection for Kenneth Lonergan and Michelle Williams and would have gone to see this movie, but the Casey Affleck thing, no. They didn’t get my money or any other support. And Matt Damon continued his forays into jerkdom by using a down-on-his-luck Lonergan to rehabilitate his jerk friend. I’m guessing Casey had spent a great deal of time whining to Ben and Matt about how he wishes he was on par with them and they finally gave in to the guilt. A waste of everyone’s capital.
I saw Manchester By the Sea and Lucas Hedges (who played the 17 year old kid and was also nominated) was so much better than Casey Affleck it wasn’t even funny. Affleck’s performance is utterly one note and with the exception of two scenes (punching the window and crying after a bar fight) he is monotone the entire time showing little emotion. At times he sounds like he’s reciting off cue cards.
Glad to see Constance speaking out. I’m sure this will cost her work but at least she can look at herself in the mirror and respect herself for speaking out.
Good for her. This needs to be talked about. Hollywood keeps giving privileged white men chance after chance and it’s disgusting.
Honestly thus proves white male privilege sooo much. I was seeing the Nate Parker accusations unfold all over the media but this is the first I’ve heard about Afleck
casey didn’t rape anyone unlike nate
Can both of the Afflecks just go away for awhile, or forever. I’m tired of their crap.
Yes, please. Smug, entitled d-bags. I liked Ben in the ’90s but both Afflecks and Matt Damon can just fade into obscurity now, please.
Ditto to all of this!!!
They can take Matt Damon with them too. The press won’t speak out because they’re afraid they’ll lose their access to Matt Damon/The Afflecks.
Matty D is THE WORST. Pretends to be all humanitarian, but turns a blind eye on his friend’s transgressions.
Mark Whalberg too.
I still adore my Ben but little brother can hop the next train to Nowhereville.
Yeah, Ben’s messy, but not this horrible.
no ben sucks worse
I’ve Found my people!!, YES PLEASE
Constance is So So So Right!, This one is a spitfire which probably means they won’t let her cook Too Much
I like her too and don’t understand how she hasn’t been nominated or received an Emmy/Golden Globe for her work in “Fresh Off the Boat.” She’s truly the heart of that show.
Yo Me and my bf just LOVE LOVE LOVE her in that, We really will sit there and fall right into the Goldbergs and Fresh off the boat and laugh like idiots
for sure, they will punish her but wow, i love how she defined acting and the ethics involved with campaigning/awards—really brilliant argument to undermine her critics. and what they won’t get, is her argument elevates the profession universally. whereas Affleck does the opposite…
Constance Wu is a damn BOSS !
I just love how she even tweeted that she has “been counciled to stop talking” about the issue “to save her career” (words to that affect) …. she was like, UM NO. NOPE. CAN’T STOP WON’T STOP.
I didn’t think my love for her could be any more… and then she continues to up the ante. Constance Wu for EVERYTHING !
Slay, Constance.
Well hopefully this starts something. I remember before nominations were announced, folks were more outraged over the idea that Deadpool may get nominations because it’s not “worthy” than Casey Affleck and Mel Gibson getting nominations even though they as human beings are not worthy. Sorry I’d rather see Ryan’s smug face on Oscar night, knowing for a fact that Deadpool won’t win, than have to stare at Casey and Mel Gibson’s nasty faces and knowing that they’ll actually get the win and make speeches. Normalizing their behavior is not okay and I don’t wanna hear the excuse of separating the “man” from their “work.” Especially when women get blacklisted from Hollywood for way less. Don’t even get me started on POC. They look at someone funny and suddenly they’re done. Enough. Not that it matters because I’m only one person but I won’t be watching Oscar night. I’m not here for normalizing the behaviors of these two pieces of crap.
PS: Jake G would have been a great fifth over Casey. So would have Joel Edgerton but Hollywood doesn’t care.
Amen! Speaking of blacklisting POC, can we please be reminded that Janet Jackson (one of the greatest artists of her time) got shunned by the industry after that Super Bowl fiasco, but the douche-face Justin Timberlake – who was complicit with that stunt – gets a pass and is now nominated for an Oscar; let’s not even start on the the fact that he was nominated for one of THE worst songs of the year!!!!! 2016 – the year of misogyny – has made me so over men’s privilege and bullshit. Call out vile behavior when you see it.
I kind of like the song, it grew on me after seeing the movie Trolls. Justin and Anna singing it in the movie sounded really good. Also I guess it sounded much better coming through the movie theater’s system.
Casey is a very good actor. Sadly because I really admire his work he’s also a douchebag. He’s not only protected by his whiteness but his Hollywood connections. Imao.
I have to sadly agree! I think he is a great actor! Far better than his brother. Loved him in Gone Baby Gone. But the Affleck’s remind me of those a-hole jerks in high school who are rude yet still popular. Never really held accountable for their behavior because they’re good looking & popular. Yuck
I never heard of Ben being rude.
Cheating on his wife is pretty rude
Ben was really awful to a friend of mine who was just doing her job. This was ages ago and it’s possible he’s grown the hell up since then, but I still dislike him because of it.
Cheating is not rude. That’s why it’s called cheating, you’re not supposed to get caught. Therefore he was not being rude to his wife he didn’t flaunt it in her face.
Disrespectful but not rude.
I think he’s terribbly overrated and I hate his voice.
Constance is an amazing woman to speak out despite the threats to her career. Casey is such a pompous prick (have you seen him in interviews?!) And I’m so glad he’s being called out by a celeb. Ha!
Pompous is the perfect word. Ugh.
I’m really hoping for an upset in this category.
The rest of hollywood are hypocrites & not only continue to support these people but work with them & honor them. Never more disgusted than the petition majority of hollywood signed for polanski. Petition sent out by another predator Harvey weinstein. There should be a full investigation in the industry. It will make jimmy saville & BBC investigation tame in comparison.
Yeah, not sure if true but I read that Streep was one of the Hw people who signed in support of Polanski. Disappointing if true.
Polanski was chosen as President for this year’s Cesars (French Oscars) and there has been a major backlash. So much so that Polanski backed down and will not preside the ceremony. There was a threat of protest outside the restaurants where they announce the nominees. The politicians got involved: we have a woman attached to the department of culture and she spoke out in support of him. You can bet that the department attached to women’s rights replied right away!!!
She also mentioned that producers won’t speak up because they want access to Ben and Matt (which we knew). Love that Constance is always calling out the BS.
At least if he wins Brie won’t have to present him the trophy. She looked so uncomfortable at the GGs doing so
That took massive ladyballs for her to post, considering she’s a WOC and he’s Ben Affleck’s brother. I hope this does not negatively affect her career.
While I’m not an Affleck fan, the accusers obviously are content with the out of court settlements they received and/or were comfortable signing non-disclosure agreements. This didn’t go to court and we don’t know what happened. We know there were accusations but we don’t have any facts. If actors with skeletons in their closet were precluded from award nominations, there wouldn’t be any awards.
Yeah I agree. I am no fan of Casey or his brother, but to put him in the same category as Nate Parker is pretty terrible. We have no idea what happened with those women, like you said, it never went to court. I’m really glad the academy didn’t show any love for Parker.
I think that it’s understandable to lump them together given both him and Nate Parker have shown no public regret for their actions.
I would like to cosign everything ALS said.
The legal system is stacked against survivors of sexual abuse. I hope settling out of court gave the women closure. However I don’t see how them choosing to do so is an indication of Casey Afflecks innocence.
Affleck’s actions are unknown since the complaints never went to court. I don’t know if he’s innocent or not because this never went to court and the complaint details weren’t made public. What I do know is that it isn’t reasonable to assume guilt without court proceedings. In this country it is innocent until proven guilty. Maybe the complaints were genuine, maybe they weren’t. Maybe he settled because he’s guilty, maybe he settled to avoid a media circus. The fact that we don’t know is the point.
Bullshit!
I read the story and the transcript about Casey’s behavior.(in which, by the way, Joaquin Phoenix was part of and everyone conveniently is leaving him out) The only reason why he is not Nate Parker, a gang rapist, or a Brock Turner is lack of opportunity.
Justice is limited in its powers. Where the limits of the justice system come in, humans must use common sense and reason. Read the information, read what the parts say, look at Casey Affleck and his behavior and use your mind. Look at the way this PR campaign is being handled.
I bet there are more stories about Casey that are being killed by Hollywood.
This is why people in HW taking a stance against Trump on women and minority rights is tricky. Because they have some very, very rotten apples themselves and they are not looking to throw them out, they are looking to fool us that those are shiny, beautiful, talented apples.
It seems that to compensate Casey and Mel’s nominations, they nominated Meryl’s speech. What the hell are they doing?
I don’t know if “content” is the word I would use here. There are many reasons to settle a civil suit, particularly in a case like this where the victims were alleging sexual harassment. Had they gone to court, their entire sexual histories, etc. would have been scrutinized, and their reputations attacked, as a means to discredit their allegations. And, given how acceptable it is in our society to sexually harass women (we elected someone who bragged about groping women’s genitals as president, after all), it is likely they wouldn’t have won had they gone to court (especially given that they were up against someone with powerful connections).
I don’t think anyone is saying that someone’s past should bar them from awards consideration. However, I agree with Constance that it should be a factor. Let’s be frank; these awards are not based on merit. They are based on the campaign and, as Constance pointed out, part of that campaign is (or should be) what kind of person you are. Had Casey acknowledged the allegations and apologized, he would not be facing this much criticism.
“We know there were accusations but we don’t have facts”
Actually, court documents detailing Affleck’s (alleged) sexual harrasment have indeed been made public. Yes, the case was settled out of court, but you can read the complaints that were filed against him before they settled. Perhaps you should look it up before commenting.
“We know there were accusations but we don’t have any facts.”
There is a long detailed article at the Daily Beast website that has links to the actual lawsuits.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/22/casey-affleck-s-dark-secret-the-disturbing-allegations-against-the-oscar-hopeful.html
thank you for this link—illuminates “harassment” in all the predatory details. people often brush harassment off, when it is seeds for assault.
The filing of a complaint means nothing as far as “facts”. The assertions in a lawsuit are determined to be factual or not in a trial. If this harassment happened, and I’m not saying that it didn’t, it was and is a terrible thing. Unfortunately, the cases were settled out of court and we do not have the facts.
Ok but you stated ” the complaint details weren’t made public.”
This is false. The complaints were published in the press. People can read them and form their own conclusions.
ctgirl – I also posted this link because in your second comment you said: “the complaint details weren’t made public”, so, here they are. Yes, we all get to decide whether we believe it or not, but court rulings don’t always give you the truth, either. Innocent people are found guilty, guilty people are found innocent. Just because it happens in court doesn’t make it true, just as you say not being in court doesn’t make it “facts”. All we’ve got is the documentation presented in these lawsuits. And then the settlements.
You are correct, my bad!
I LOVE her!
Wow she is lovely
I’m honestly kinda’ queasy about both, but I’m slightly more OK with Casey Affleck’s nod than Gibson’s as Best Director. Because while I totally agree that Affleck is getting a pass due to his connections and overall privilege (including race), you could at least make a reasonable argument that he’s faced SOME consequences for his actions (settlements) and, hopefully, learned from them, though the only evidence we have of that is lack of additional lawsuits. Still … It’s SOMETHING.
Whereas, Gibson has had, roughly, innumerable “second” chances at this point, and melted down publicly again and again, openly revealing his true racist, sexist and abusive self. Yet, they’re still putting his name out there for the biggest honor his industry provides?
I’m not that aggreived about the Best Picture slot, because, OK, award the actors in the film, but feel very free to snub Gibson as director for personal reasons beyond the professional, since the entire process of deciding the “best” is extremely subjective anyway. I think it’s OK to send Gibson the message that we can admire your work, but also know that, no, all is NOT forgiven, or forgotten. It’s not like there aren’t plenty of other directors that arguably deserved the spot. It’s not as if the Academy just didn’t have anyone else … Though it IS like the Academy is full of old white men who probably think a lot like Gibson does, even if they don’t express it quite so, ahem, publicly.
Of course, maybe Wu’s angst is focused on Affleck because he’s the one who is likely to actually win.
Tell ’em Constance!!! I pray that her voice and her fight for equality never stop her from getting work in Hollywood. I hope it does the complete opposite, and opens every door for her.
I LOVE Constance!!! She’s an incredible actress with brilliant comedic timing. And she has such integrity. I’m so glad that someone famous cares enough about the toxicity of rape culture to speak out.
Constance is amazing. She is a great actress and she isn’t afraid to speak her mind.
Of course Casey’s race plays a part but I also honestly think that part of it is because he was already an established actor. I feel like people in general are more easy to forgive someone they loved for years then the newb on the scene. Plus, I think Nate Parker shot himself in the foot by talking about the case. Casey has stayed mum.
This is it. Nate Parker opened his mouth and said a bunch of terrible things. Prior to that everyone was happily dancing right around the fact he’s a rapist. Even afterwards, people spent weeks trying to justify supporting his film anyway, until the reviews confirmed what the Sundance buzz had strongly hinted at, that it was a very worthy story Parker turned into an indulgent vanity project.
If he’d never given all those interviews he’d have been fine. Even after that, if he’d actually made a masterpiece he’d have been fine. But the one two punch of revealing himself as pond scum via his own words, then having his film shown to be the pile of mediocrity it is was something he couldn’t recover from.
New girl crush! Hoorah for angry Asian girls. There aren’t enough of us in Hollywood, she’s fuckin right and she doesn’t keep quiet like she’s told. Admirable.
I hope she never stops speaking out.
Last week, I got an email from a National Acct Manager. He doesn’t outrank me (I’m a Director @ a Fortune 50) but he does have the ear of our corporate team. It consisted of asking me if I would be attending an event, and when I replied yes, then suggesting that the black dress I wore last year would do quite nicely. This is the second time he’s made a suggestive move in company email. It’s little things like this that can be played off as “oh, I was just paying a compliment” or “oh, I was just kidding” that can make work incredibly uncomfortable. It’s the second time in 3 months that I’ve had a guy make a comment that was inappropriate or uncomfortable.
In my tenure, I’ve had guys use the women’s bathroom and pee all over the toilet (on purpose, sniggering after they did it), put Playboys in the women’s bathroom, make comments about my appearance, and grab my breasts. The only one that has actually had consequences is the last one, because I had a witness who backed me up. That guy got fired-the rest had no consequences.
Women in the workplace deal with this shit everywhere. It’s NOT OK-but half the country is apparently OK with that shit, because they elected a carny-handed mango man who freely admits that he can grab p*ssy because he’s a star.
I’m sorry, I’ve lost my point. TL;DR: Casey Affleck’s Oscar nomination is a symptom of a larger problem in our country: a problem that women face everywhere.
@LizLemon, that comment of the black dress will do is so inappropriate but like you said can be played off.
It’s in these subtleties that the true damage is done. Terrible
I love Constance Wu! She’s so great on Fresh off the Boat and I love how fierce she is on Twitter. And I’m glad someone is making sure the allegations against Casey Affleck aren’t ignored!
Constance Wu is a mensch!
she is awesome and i will go out of my way to support her from now on.
i will continue to avoid at all costs the work of assleck and gibson, as i have with other creepers like polanski and w. allen.
and isn’t matty d in a white savior movie? because that’s the only way to get ‘murica to see an Asian film? seem to remember crouching tiger did very very well without any wasps.
i really really hate that whole “crew”.
perhaps damon isn’t quite the Pig his cohorts are but the company he keeps means he’s in the stye all. the. time.
YES> the commercial for The Great Wall sent me in convulsive waves of nausea–as you said the White Savior role in an Asian movie, plus the trailer over and over saying how he needs a wall to protect people from those monsters—Damon literally says it over and over, “this wall is the only thing protecting us from the monsters, the hordes”—um, today’s political context and our new dictator’s policies? Damon with his alleged liberal politics? give me a break.
Damon: he was at Davos saying people should give Trump a chance. He is dead to me.
I’m really mad too. REALLY MAD.
Good for her. She should be speaking out, as should all the other women in Hollywood. I hope other women respond, and it gains some steam. As another poster mentioned, Polanski dropped out of some award show in France because some bright, brave women protested his appointment. Yet here, so many of the so called feminists climb all over themselves to work with Woody Allen, Polanski, Weinstein, etc. Wu should be applauded.
Am I the only one that feels uncomfortable litigating this via Twitter and thru the media? I’ve read the allegations and there a he said/ she said and not even close to equivalent to Nate Parkers.
I had a male friend who’s an attorney. He was accused of sexual harassment by an employee in his firm. His partners insisted that he settle even though they were certain the allegations were baseless because they didn’t want it to go thru the court system and gain the attention of judges. He did and it came out later the woman had filed similar charges against 2 other employers.
Settling doesn’t nessisarily mean guilt. I think there should be room for possible innocence to be considered….
I posted below before I read other responses. I agree with you on the equivalency, although, I’m not, out of hand, dismissing Affleck’s culpability. Nor, am I convicting him.
Turds in a toilet bowl. Good for Constance!!!
It’s like The Academy has been schooled on what to do last year, having to give the people some equality in representations and now being outfocused by women’s march.. all they can do to reclaim their white privilege and manhood is to make sure Mel Gibson et Mini-Affleck win the war. BTW, how many of the old batch members did vote for Trump, you think?
Nope. You don’t have to be a good person to be an excellent actor. The award honours his acting ability, not his humanity. And art is not just about uplifting moral truths. Art is about getting and idea, a feeling, or an image across.
It doesn’t have an inherent moral stance. Picasso was a jerk. Doesn’t mar his work. Dali was a sadist. Doesn’t mean he wasn’t ingenious.
Now, I think Casey Affleck is a scumbag and I would never cast him or want to see another of his movies. But that doesn’t mean the boy can’t act? Nope.
I feel this way, too, Neo. Wow, after I read a biography on Tolstoy, my admiration for the writer even almost went away–in horror. But then I came back to his work after a hiatus from it ,I could see he was just as masterful a writer as he had been before I knew of his spiteful meanness in his personal life. The creation of a person is just that—what or he she helps to create, bring to genesis–and NOT the artist’s– male or female–actual life, the way that it’s being or been lived. Creations and progress of all kinds throughout history have been conceived of by some not very nice, even awful, people, but that does not take the importance of their achievements or their place in our history and our future away.
I agree. How can personal virtue or vice be factored into an Oscar nomination?
“Many have wondered why Casey hasn’t gotten even a fraction of the backlash that Nate Parker received, and many (myself included) think it’s because he’s a white guy with substantial connections and privilege.”
That’s a false equivalency. Parker and Celestin are on record for what they did…rape is not equivalent to harassment. Polanski is the one who’s not a false equivalency to Parker and Celestin. I’m not defending Affleck, just pointing out the mental gymnastics to compare them.
So men’s careers in hollyweird can peak at 40 but women’s at 25? Got it. White privilege and ageism. Ugh what’s the point anymore, seriously?
Meryl and Viola and Octavia and Isabelle still seem to be going strong at well over 40… it’s great to see mature women being recognised with nominations, though I have had a Streep overdose.
Yes sorry you are right. There are a handful of women that this is true for
I don’t know if hugh grant is nominated but every woman should be pissed that he continues to get work and praise, despite being a misogynistic buyer of exploited, prostituted women. A typical abusive JOHN.
i LOVE her
she is soooo talented if you haven’t seen her show and so pretty, someone please hire her for more things
100% support for Constance! So sick of crap white men do being covered up. Still smells!!
Lucas Hedges and Michelle Williams were what made that film. As for Constance, I feel like she is the only Asian fighting for visibiliity in films. Asians are already under represented and we have only one person fighting for it. She has a lot to lose for being vocal/political as she is not a very big name yet. Yeah, we see Mindy Kaling and Aziz but I am talking about East Asians and Southeast Asian.
Best thing to do is to boycott any movie or show with these types of men and to support films and shows with female leads. Money talks!
Good for her!
DO NOT DARE TO BRING IN THAT MONSTER NATE PARKER INTO THIS AND TRY TO RENEGOTIATE THE PUBLIC OPINION ABOUT THAT ASSWIPE.
That girl was abandoned by the entire school, treated like trash, and committed suicide after all that. This has nothing to do with race and this make-belief ‘privilege’. Easy there with your prejudice and race anger.