An Oscar smear campaign against “Manchester by the Sea” nominee Casey Affleck turned an actor’s Oscar-buzz into a 3 year bout to try and save his good name. If you remember, The Daily Beast had published the account of Amanda White, producer of Affleck’s mockumentary "I'm Still Here," starring Joaquin Phoenix, in which she complained that she was "repeatedly harassed by Affleck" during the shoot back in 2009.
On the most recent episode of Dax Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast, Affleck admitted to being very nervous whenever asked about the #MeToo movement, because, despite being one of the poster-boys of the movement, he supports it and doesn’t want anyone to think otherwise:
“Who would not be supportive of the #MeToo movement? That’s an idea that’s even out there?” Affleck said. “That there are some people saying we do not believe in equality and we think the workplace should be a dangerous place for certain people and not for others. That’s preposterous.” Affleck added that “it is very, very hard to talk about, and it scares me” to discuss the #MeToo movement. “Mostly because the values of the #MeToo movement are values that are at the heart of my being,” he added. “Just the way I was raised, they are baked into my own value system having been raised by a mother who didn’t let us watch ‘Dukes Of Hazard’ when we were like eight years old because it was sexist.”
“The way that I’m thought of sometimes by certain people recently has been so antithetical to who I really am that it’s been frustrating,” Affleck added. “And not being able to talk about it has been hard because I really wanted to support all of that, but I felt like the best thing to do was to just be quiet so I didn’t seem to be in opposition to something that I really wanted to champion.”
You have to understand that the Affleck smear was published just 15 days after Donald Trump won the election and became President of the United States. Trump’s electoral win turned the country into, what I like to call, “tribal hypersensitivity mode,” as a “natural” way to respond against the “pussy-grabbing” elected President. It’s a phenomenon which is still ongoing as we speak. We have to also take note that the #MeToo movement had started just a month prior, with Harvey Weinstein finally given his own reckoning via the now infamous New York Times investigative report about his sexual misdeeds on October 6th. So, Affleck was thrust into the middle of this chaotic affair.
That being said, the accusations White laid against Affleck are fairly horrendous on paper.
The Daily Beast report had White insinuating that “Affleck ordered a crew member to take off his pants and show White his penis—even after she vehemently objected. She claimed that Affleck repeatedly referred to women as “cows,” and recounted his sexual exploits with reckless abandon. In her complaint, White recalled Affleck asking her “Isn’t it about time you get pregnant?” once he learned her age, and suggesting that she and a male crew member reproduce. White’s accusations go on, ranging from incredibly unprofessional behavior to actual physical intimidation. She described an instance where she was prevented from returning to her bedroom during shooting, because Affleck and Phoenix had locked themselves in her room with two women where they had sex with them."
“Affleck was married with two children to Phoenix’s sister, Summer, at the time (though the couple recently split). She also alleged that Affleck attempted to manipulate her into sharing a hotel room with him. When she resisted, White claimed, he grabbed her threateningly and attempted to scare her into submission. Affleck then allegedly proceeded to send White abusive text messages, calling her “profane names” for refusing to stay with him. White filed a $2 million lawsuit against Affleck in Los Angeles Superior Court on July 23, 2010."
Affleck settled the two lawsuits accusing him of sexual harassment, including White’s, in 2010.