Ever since Casey Affleck won the Oscar for Best Actor last year many have been wondering how the matter of him handing out this year’s Best Actress trophy would be handled. Affleck has been mired in controversy over past sexual assault allegations, and some feel him handing out the trophy would be no less than an insult. But we need not worry about the issue anymore because Affleck has reportedly stepped down from handing out the award come this year’s Oscars.
Deadline heard from sources that Affleck is choosing not to be present at this year’s awards, and will not be honoring the tradition of passing out the award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Word is this is because Affleck does not want to distract from the work of the talented line-up of actresses, ensuring that all the attention goes to their big night.
Given the growing #MeToo and Time’s Up movements, his passing out of the award would have indeed been a distracting moment in the evening. Past allegations of sexual misconduct against Affleck began to resurface while he was receiving attention for his work for MANCHESTER BY THE SEA in 2016 and 2017. The actor was accused of several acts of sexual misconduct by Amanda White and Magdalena Gorka while he worked with them on the 2010 mockumentary IM STILL HERE. He has denied the claims and settled with the women out of court. Brie Larson made headlines last year by refusing to clap for Affleck when she presented him with his award.
Regardless of where you stand on the issue with Affleck, there’s no denying what he did here was the smartest move he could make. The fact this story is making headlines is only proof that his presence would indeed steal some of the thunder away when it would be time to hand out the award. Now all the focus can be put on the actresses – Saoirse Ronan, Frances McDormand, Margot Robbie, Meryl Streep and Sally Hawkins – and their amazing work. I would like to think, though, that if McDormand wins she would have some choice words for Affleck, which would no doubt make for great TV.
The Oscars will air on March 4.