He says he's "incredibly proud" of being named Best Actor for his work in Manchester by the Sea, but there's no denying that a cloud hangs over Casey Affleck's recent Oscar win.
The actor's victory on Sunday night was met with some criticism from those who felt Academy voters were overlooking unsavoury allegations from Affleck's past. In a new interview with the Boston Globe, the Massachusetts native finally addresses the controversy, which stems from accusations of sexual harassment levelled against him in 2010.
Affleck has denied any wrongdoing, and the lawsuit, brought by two women who worked with him on the 2009 film I'm Still Here, was settled out of court. Here's how the Globe described his reaction to being asked about the charges.
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"He said both sides in the case are prohibited from commenting on the matter, and none of the people who are condemning him online know what happened," reporter Mark Shanahan wrote, adding that the 41-year-old star of Gone Baby Gone and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford "sighed heavily."
He did, however, offer this statement.
"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," the father of two responded.
“There’s really nothing I can do about it,” 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.”
That may be all we hear from him on the subject. Will his comments appease critics like Brie Larson, who declined to applaud when she presented Affleck with his Oscar on Sunday night? Or will they take offence to his "there's really nothing I can do about it" attitude?
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