Casey Affleck has decided not to present the Oscar for best actress at this year’s ceremony.
According to a representative from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the actor has notified the organization that he will not be attending the event. Affleck won best actor at the 2017 Oscars for his performance in Manchester by the Sea and tradition dictates that he would have presented the best actress award this year.
The star is understood not to want to distract from the #MeToo movement given previous allegations against him for sexual harassment on the set of the mockumentary I’m Still Here.
In 2010, his former colleagues Amanda White and Magdalena Gorka sued Affleck for multiple complaints relating to his behavior while making the film. Gorka’s suit referred to the experience as “the most traumatizing of her career” while White referred to “a nearly daily barrage of sexual comments, innuendo, and unwelcome advances by crew members, within the presence and with the active encouragement of Affleck”.
Both suits were later settled. “It was settled to the satisfaction of all,” Affleck said to the New York Times. “I was hurt and upset – I am sure all were – but I am over it. It was an unfortunate situation – mostly for the innocent bystanders of the families of those involved.”
Affleck’s Oscar was presented by Brie Larson, who has been a vocal advocate for sexual abuse victims. She handed over the award to Affleck with little pleasure, refusing to clap. “I think that whatever it was that I did onstage kind of spoke for itself,” she told Vanity Fair.
His decision not to attend this year arrives after an online petition calling on the Academy not to allow him on stage reached almost 20,000 names. There had already been talk of changing how awards were presented this year, with producers Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd reportedly experimenting with a shakeup.
This year’s best actress race is spearheaded by Frances McDormand, the favorite to win for her performance in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.