The Best Picture fiasco was far from the only controversy at the 2017 Oscars. There was also the fact that the Academy featured a living woman in the "In Memoriam" segment. But the most powerful moment was when Brie Larson, who presented the award for Best Actor, refused to clap for winner Casey Affleck.
"I think that whatever it was that I did onstage kind of spoke for itself," Larson told Vanity Fair on Wednesday. "I've said all that I need to say about that topic."
Larson didn't address the incident head-on, but her words to Vanity Fair still speak volumes. Not clapping for Affleck was a powerful but subtle move on Larson's part to stick up for what she believes in.
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Many people think Larson didn't clap for Affleck because of the two sexual harassment lawsuits that were filed against him in 2010. Two women filed separate suits against him after working with him on the film I'm Still Here, which Affleck directed. Both were settled out of court.
Larson has played survivors of sexual abuse in various roles and is an advocate for survivors of assault. She recently interviewed Jane Fonda for Net-a-Porter's The Edit about her past abuse. Larson also won Best Actress at the 2016 Oscars for her portrayal of a survivor of sexual abuse in Room.
For his part, Affleck told the Boston Globe after the Oscars that "mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent."
"There's really nothing I can do about it," Affleck told the Globe of the backlash. "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."