Casey Affleck may have won the best actor Oscar for his performance in Manchester by the Sea, but he knows not everyone was happy about it.
In the run up to the Academy Awards the 41-year-old star was plagued with sexual harassment allegations stemming from lawsuits filed by two women in 2010 who worked with him on the movie I’m Still Here.
He vehemently denied the allegations, but still faced backlash over his triumphant awards season, with people — including fellow Massachusetts native and actor B.J. Novak — criticizing his wins.
Can we check Best Actor again
— B.J. Novak (@bjnovak) February 27, 2017
Casey Affleck is avoiding eye contact with every woman in the room. #Oscars
— ClickHole (@ClickHole) February 27, 2017
Boys! BUY ur way out of trouble by settling out of court!Just do a good acting job,thats all that matters!bc Art isn't about humanity,right?
— Constance Wu (@ConstanceWu) January 24, 2017
But on Tuesday, February 28, he spoke to the Boston Globe about coming under fire and 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.”
Affleck, who settled both claims out of court, added that neither side in the case are allowed to comment on the matter, but that the people trolling him don’t know what happened.
“There’s really nothing I can do about it,” he said. “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.”
Both suits, one for $2 million and one for $2.25 million, were settled for undisclosed amounts.
Affleck has always denied the women’s claims, calling them “extortion.”
For more details of the lawsuit click here.
This story has been corrected from a previous version.
