Following the flood of harassment accusations in Hollywood and the growing Time's Up and #MeToo movements, 2017 Best Actor winner Casey Affleck has pulled out of this year's Oscars ceremony, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Traditionally, the previous year's Best Actor winner presents the Best Actress trophy at the ceremony and vice versa, but given the past allegations against Affleck, his appearance this year would have been controversial. Deadline reports that Affleck made the decision to withdraw because he 'did not want to become a distraction from the focus that should be on the performances of the actresses in the category.'
In 2010, two women who worked on Affleck's film I'm Still Here filed sexual harassment lawsuits against him; both cases were settled out of court and he has repeatedly denied the allegations. When 2016 Best Actress winner Brie Larson, a vocal advocate for victims of harassment and assault, presented him with his Oscar last year, she pointedly did not clap after handing him the award and later implied she'd done that on purpose. 'I think that whatever it was that I did onstage kind of spoke for itself,' she told Vanity Fair. 'I've said all that I need to say about that topic.'
