Casey Affleck pulls out of Oscars presenting duties amid sexual misconduct claims

WITH the #MeToo movement hitting fever pitch, Oscars presenters were faced with a very awkward dilemma this year: what to do about 2017 Best Actor winner Casey Affleck?

OSCAR-winning actor Casey Affleck has pulled out of the Academy Awards amid a string of sexual harassment allegations.

Affleck had presented organisers with an awkward dilemma, given that his 2017 win meant he was entitled to present the Best Actress award at this year’s ceremony.

Brie Larson famously refused to clap after presenting Affleck with the Best Actor award for Manchester by the Sea, in what was perceived to be a silent protest against him.

Later, she explained that the action “spoke for itself”.

Affleck’s win caused major controversy. Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images/AFP

With the #MeToo movement taking over Hollywood in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, the actor has now withdrawn from his duties in a bid to eliminate the awkward situation.

An Oscars spokeswoman confirmed that Affleck would not attend, saying: “We appreciate the decision to keep the focus on the show and on the great work of this year.”

According to Deadline , he wanted to avoid distracting from the nominated actress’ performances and was in a no-win situation, the publication claimed.

Affleck’s reputation has been tainted over the past few years after two women came forward accusing him of sexually harassing them on the set of I’m Still Here in 2008 and 2009.

Both cases were settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

In one of the lawsuits against Affleck, a female colleague claimed she was “exposed to so much degradation and exhaustion that she vomited” over the actor’s alleged behaviour on the movie set, reports The Sun.

Most damaging was the claim that one of the women, director of photography Magdalena Gorka, now 39, woke one night during shooting to find Affleck had sneaked into her bed while she slept.

Her lawsuit claimed: “When she woke up, Affleck was curled up next to her in bed wearing only his underwear and T-shirt.

“He had his arm around her, was caressing her back, his face was within inches of hers and his breath reeked of alcohol.

“She was shocked and repulsed because she did not know where he had touched her while she was sleeping or how long he had been there before she woke up.

“She immediately jumped up and told Affleck to get out of her bed. Affleck responded by asking, ‘Why?’

“She said: ‘Because you are married and because you are my boss.’ Affleck left and slammed the door in anger.”

Speaking to the Boston Globe in the days after his Oscar win last year, Affleck said: “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 [the allegations],” he continued. “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.”

Originally published as Casey Affleck pulls out of Oscars presenting duties amid sexual misconduct claims