Casey Affleck was honored at the Palm Springs Film Festival this week, and he picked up the Best Actor Award at the National Board of Review Awards on Wednesday night. He’s walking into Sunday’s Golden Globes as the “favorite” for Best Actor in a Drama for Manchester by the Sea, and he’s considered a sure-thing for an Oscar nomination, when the noms come out on January 24th. He’s definitely the favorite for the Oscar this year too.
As we discussed last month, Casey Affleck is absolutely getting the kid-glove treatment in the press, especially compared to someone like Nate Parker. Casey had to settle two sexual harassment lawsuits out of court a few years back, and he’s managed to barely speak about those cases in his Oscar campaign press availabilities. Part of the reason he didn’t have to speak about it? Because he wasn’t even asked, in most cases. So what’s new? Well, the New York Times had a fascinating article this week called “The Glare Varies for Two Actors on Hollywood’s Awards Trail” by Brooks Barnes. You can read the full piece here. Barnes compares and contrasts the awards-season experiences between Nate Parker and Casey Affleck and whether there’s a significant amount of white privilege in play. An excerpt from the piece:
In heated conversations in Hollywood in recent weeks, prompted by articles on websites like The Daily Beast, Mic and ThinkProgress, producers, publicists, studio executives and other movie insiders have been grappling with whether there is a double standard at play — involving race, power or both — in the treatment of Nate Parker, a relatively unknown artist who has been sidelined as an Academy Award candidate, and Casey Affleck, the brother of moviedom royalty who is being feted as the leading contender for best actor.
Mr. Affleck, 41, has not received similar scrutiny over two sexual harassment suits that were filed against him by two women in 2010 in civil court. At the time, a lawyer for Mr. Affleck, who plays a sorrowful New England handyman in the celebrated drama “Manchester by the Sea,” denied the accusations as “desperate, fabricated claims” and called them an “extortion tactic.” Nothing was proved. Ultimately, he settled for undisclosed sums. Mr. Affleck’s performance has continued to rack up accolades, despite fresh attention on the 2010 lawsuits by the news media. (Asked about them by The Times for an article in November, he responded: “It was settled to the satisfaction of all. I was hurt and upset — I am sure all were — but I am over it.”) More than two dozen critics’ groups and festivals have named him best actor for his “Manchester by the Sea” performance. He is up for a Golden Globe on Sunday and a Screen Actors Guild award on Jan. 29.
Why do the two men find themselves in much different circumstances? Perhaps people think Mr. Affleck’s performance, and the movie in which he stars, is better. Maybe it’s because, as an Oscar nominee and the brother of the box-office star Ben Affleck, Mr. Affleck has attained a privileged status in Hollywood; the power surrounding him may make people reluctant to openly criticize him. Certainly a factor is the fact that there was unsettling new information revealed about Mr. Parker’s rape case in August — that his accuser later committed suicide — while there have been no new disclosures regarding Mr. Affleck’s cases. Or maybe, say those mindful of Hollywood’s checkered racial history, it is because Mr. Affleck is white and Mr. Parker is black.
Barnes goes on to note that “there are people in Hollywood — none of whom would speak on the record — who believe that Mr. Affleck is insulated because he is a white man. Their feeling is that the entertainment-industry awards groups, still largely dominated by white men, are judging him differently than they judged Mr. Parker.” This NYT piece has been picked up and quoted widely this week, and Vanity Fair’s HWD Daily columnist Rebecca Keegan noted that she found the same thing as the NYT – that “Like Barnes, I have yet to find someone in Hollywood who will share an opinion about Affleck vs. Parker on the record. Off the record, the third-rail issue of race comes up.” What I think is interesting is that there does seem to be a legit movement – at least online – to really devote more coverage to “the problem with Casey Affleck.” Even if people aren’t going on the record about Casey, race and sexual harassment, I hope that entertainment journalists continue to remind people about all of this.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, WENN.
Just take a look at Woody Allen to know that if you are an white man, you can get away with everything.
I dunno. I don’t think Woody got away with things because he is white, I think it is because he is enormously talented. This guy is getting a break because he is Ben’s brother. There is a lot of unfairness in the world regarding race but I don’t think these are examples of that. Just my opinion.
I think being white helps. I also think being better at the PR game helps (Nate Parker wasn’t). I don’t think the two really have to cancel each other. They can be both.
Really in Casey’s case, I think it’s more to do with nepotism then anything.
Casey Affleck should be asked about it, every single time.
It isn’t the same as Nate Parker though. He was new to Hollywood, his lack of empathy was recorded on tape, his accuser killed herself and he brought it up himself STILL not sorry about it using the old “I know lots of women” defense.
They are just not the same, it’s not race, it’s not prejudice just different. But with all that we’ll only end rape culture if we ask all of these famous men involved in this about it at every press junket.
Race is a big part of it, but I agree with you that there are other insulating factors at play here: his brother, his connections through his ex-wife and his already entrenched position in Hollywood.
I agree Nate has a huge strike against him already (he’s black) but his attitude was very unpleasant and he showed not an ounce of remorse or sympathy and got angry that people were asking him about it. Working with his co-accused and adding a rape scene given his history showed how little he cared even if he had said nothing. He brought it up himself and when it wasn’t quickly swept aside, he kept digging the hole deeper and talked his way out of consideration. I had no intention on seeing the movie because of the content and NP, but it apparently wasn’t that great. He gave them everything they needed to dismiss him. I’m not weeping for him, but there are double standards and he doesn’t have the same benefits as Casey.
+1 LingLing
+2 LingLing. Definitely complicated by the fact that the acts are not on par.
I do not think that debating the crimes either actor committed against women makes sense. I also think what is considered acceptable behavior by the black elite is very different than the white elite.
I think Casey Affleck, is best friends with Joaquin Phoenix and brother to Ben Affleck. He has had a long career in supporting roles. He is shady, his brother is shady and Joaquin is shady ….and that has been protected.
The difference with Nate Parker is that he was advised by the heads of the movie company that picked up his film to talk down the assault. I think he was annoyed that he was advised to talk about it at all. He came across as unsympathetic to his victim. The black community of actors and entertainment honchos let him burn. They went so far as to out of turn speak negatively about being associated with the movie, Gabriele Union. Also, Neither Oprah nor Quincy support that type of behavior, assault against women.
Casey was also Joaquin’s brother in law until quite recently.
Race is a major part on how the stories have been handled. With Parker it was brought up in almost every interview. Instead Casey Affleck has had numerous puff pieces recently and is not asked about anything regarding these cases. Parker’s film went from having awards buzz to being DOA. Affleck is still getting awards.
TOTALLY dwell on the Jeffrey Jones sitch – man did that ever get swept under the rug with a quickness – SERIOUSLY. (oops, this was supposed to land below) (sorry)
@Lingling
You really dont think that white people would have bent over backwards to excuse Nate had he been white as they are doing for Casey? You must be kidding. When that Nate thing went down, I cautioned people against seeing it as some kind of feminist victory. The villain merely happened to be outside white patriachal structures, he was easy to let go. I wont even talk about the obvious names, Woody Allen, Roman Polanski, Bryan Singer because people will argue that they survive because they have powerful connections even though their box office records arent great. So lets talk about Jeffrey Jones, a recognisable character actor from Sleepy Hollow, Ferris Bueller and Beetlejuice who was convicted of child molestation but was able to keep working in both film and recurring tv roles. As character actors go, he is considered successful for having been able to live off his craft. In fact only aging and ill health over the last two years has slowed his work. He has no box office clout, no famous brother or outstanding recognised talent. What he is, is a white guy who gets an infinite number of tries in spite of being convicted of a sex offense on a child. There are other examples but I dont want to write an essay here today.
People considered it a “feminist victory”?
The victim ended up killing herself while her perpetrators went on to make a movie (replete with superfluous rape scene) that received critical acclaim and a standing ovation at TIFF.
I don’t see any “victory” for women in that scenario.
Considering Fox Searchlight Pictures bought the worldwide distribution rights for the film for $17.5 million–the biggest deal in the history of the Sundance Film Festival–it seems like the only “victors” here are Parker and his rapist pal.
I’d ask his victim how she feels about it but you know, she’s dead.
Perhaps I wasnt clear, Kitten. Some saw it as a feminist victory because it seemed like the usual Hollywood rape apologists backed down to public pressure. Some of us tried to point out that 1) his melanin content and the unMLK nature of Nat Turners story played a big role in why that pressure got so loud and hard for the industry to ignore and 2) his melanin content was why Nate and his film were an easy token for the establishment to hand us. Still, it wasnt a point anybody wanted to belabour because in the end our sympathies lay with Nates victim.
The point is that we saw that even the media pressure was not a harbinger of change when the same publications that write declaratively about the Nate incident still preface Woodys daughters statements with “claims” and conclude those articles with a vicious statement from Woodys rep. Enter Casey Affleck and no doubt the next white shmuck to do some crap.
Ok thanks for the extra clarification, Ramona. I see what you’re saying.
@Ramona…what Jeffrey Jones is is a man who knows ALOT about other powerful industry men just like him who like the same sick shit he does. He’s a white man with receipts.
Casey Affleck is insulated because he’s a white man. Literally everyone knows this and it’s why I’m so ticked off this awards season.
It’s ironic because on Twitter the last several weeks a lot of film bloggers and critics in Hollywood were throwing tantrums because Deadpool keeps getting nominated for important categories and they keep saying how can a film that’s so vulgar get nominated. In my mind I’m like you throw a tantrum because one of the better most entertaining movies of the year is getting its due but have no issue with a man who has been accused of sexual assault by different women is getting awarded. You had no issue when Woody Allen or Roman Polanski were getting awarded despite knowing everything you know about them. People who have been awful in their REAL LIVES but Deadpool is where we draw the line. Hollywood is pathetic and gross.
I’m all on board for Denzel Washington coming in and snatching that Oscar away. Heck if you’re going to honor a white man this year, make it Ryan Gosling.
That’s the same sort of logic they used to deprive Fassbender of an Oscar for “Shame”. Full frontal male nudity. They don’t care if it’s a woman, but a guy? It’s apparently vulgar.
Either that or they all had penis envy.
Fassbender is not squeaky clean either (allegations of abuse; his treatment of some women journalists by use of slurs), so I’m happy he’s yet to win an Oscar.
Yup Fassbender showing himself is what cost him but like mentioned above he isn’t squeaky clean. But ya know male nudity is vulgar. Mentioning male nudity is vulgar. Cussing is vulgar. It’s all vulgar till we get to the subject of women and how these creeps view them.
Lol penis envy or maybe their wives enjoyed the movie a bit too much.
In all seriousness I think that Michael’s lack of a nomination had more to do with him being new and not playing the Hollywood game than it had to do with him not being “squeaky clean” as the other posters have mentioned. Obviously Hollywood doesn’t care about certain issues, so they aren’t going to punish him over an abuse claim that went nowhere and I haven’t heard about him sexist to female journalist. He was kind of rude to one, but she was terribly unprofessional.
@Aminah “his treatment of some women journalists by use of slurs” Fassbender was the one who was insulted. This is a strange distorted version of facts. A female journalist kept objecifying him during an interview and at some point she literally said that he would have showed his di*ck,if she asked. He was professional,she was not. Fassbender just complained about her behavior when another journalist brought up that embarrassing episide. And that story about his ex is not substanciated by any kind of evidence. It was very fishy in the first place.
Fassie was ROBBED for “12 Years a Slave”
His portrayal was absolutely terrifying – He should have won.
@sam, unless I’m wrong, Casey was not accused of sexual assault. He was accused of sexual harassment.
As a privileged educated white woman, I don’t think I can speak definitively as to whether race plays any part in the different treatment of the two men.
But I’m certain that the difference in the accused crimes plays a part.
Nate Parker was criminally charged, in court with witnesses, with rape. Casey had some claims made against him that were settled out of court.
To me, There is a huge difference.
No criminal charges, no court case, no witnesses. The fact that he paid out some money implies some wrong doing to me, but I don’t think these two men’s “crimes” can be equated, mostly because Casey never even faced charges of a “crime”.
I’m a woman, I’m a feminist, I’ve experienced pretty bad, intimidating, even scary sexual harassment. It still wasn’t the equivalent of being raped by two entitled athlete sociopaths at a party, then dragged and intimidated and harassed for speaking out. The law says those are different, my gut agrees, and race has NOTHING to do with that for me.
I agree @BB.
While both are disgusting and atrocious, rape is more serious than harassment. Rape is harassment taken to the next level. I think saying that the rapist is getting worse treatment than someone who didn’t rape simply because of skin color is a slap in the face to the victim who is now dead.
+1 @BB. Very different situations.
@BB.
A feminist?. Race has everything to do with it and America’s history on this subject matter proves it.
Black feminists will not put up or support anyone for harassment or rape. One crime if unchecked leads to the another.
Mark my words, the world is watching America on this one.
@Sam
+1
I tend to think that maybe it’s also because sexual harrassement is, at least in Hollywood, a non-issue for these people. The term “casting couch” exists for a reason. That system is sewn up, not ONCE have we ever seen a lawsuit against any of the people who require “services” for a part. Of course, the old white guys in the Academy probably think of it as a “perk” as opposed to a form of extortion or coercion.
Yup. If you ask women in Hollywood they’ve either been sexually assaulted or witnessed another women being sexually assaulted on every movie set. This is why I never make jokes about actresses who have been rumored to be a part of the casting couch because I know damn well they’ve been subjected to so much worse behind closed doors and can’t do or say anything about it. No one is going to listen to them unfortunately and the public who don’t know much about Hollywood will say they’re just doing it for attention. So to all these folks what Casey Affleck did was just a walk in the park.
I don’t know any details about Affleck’s lawsuits but going by what I just read here, it doesn’t sound like criminal charges were involved like with Parker. Unless I’m missing something. But maybe that’s part of the difference?
I just looked it up, what he did is disgusting and that girl deserved every penny, but he didn’t gang rape her, threaten and dismiss her until she killed herself. The two situations aren’t even in the same arena. His was work place sexual harassment, nate parker gang raped a woman…. the media handled them different for a huge reason.
But again, if men in Hollywood had to talk about being accused of sexual harassment in every interview they would probably do it less.
Lingling: “if men in Hollywood had to talk about being accused of sexual harassment in every interview they would probably do it less.”
Yes. You’d hope.
There were no criminal charges involved at all. In fact, if it did not occur in a workplace setting, as disturbing and disgusting as it was, in most states, the women would have had no legal course of action. It also was covered in mainstream media during the time of the lawsuits.
I think you have hit the nail on the head here. Even for them I think Nate Parker’s case was difficult ignore, because it was so nasty. On a different level, a lot of men I know let Trump’s comments about women wash over them, up to the point where he said he would grab their pussy. No man I spoke with about that could link it to their experience of ‘locker room talk’ and they had no problem seeing it as a deplorable sexual assault.
As soon as you touch a woman in an unwanted sexual manner it’s assault, from my reading of one overview of the accusations against Casey it APPEARS he never physically touched her. It was disgusting traumatic sexual harassment, but not assault.
@Lingling
If you read the Daily Beast article, that is not the case. One of the women does allege he grabbed her.
“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. ”
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/11/22/casey-affleck-s-dark-secret-the-disturbing-allegations-against-the-oscar-hopeful.html
He has gone after at least two women, hoping to use his status and intimidation tactics to get them to do what he wants. My bet is that if there are two women, there are probably more women who haven’t come forward.
But those same men still voted for Trump even after confessing to grabbing women’s genitals and being accused of raping a teenaged girl. Remember the Women-for-Trump who asked for him to do the same to them?
Honestly Trump could have raped a woman in front of cameras and still gotten elected. And the media had no problem asking January Jones about her baby Dady drama pregnancy or asking Anne Hathaway about flashing people.
Casey just has privilege that is 99% due to his brother and his brother’s best bud. The remains 1% is just White male hetero privilege that women too buy into. One only has to read the postings on here dismissing the importance of his harassment as something all women face.
It’s not a question about the crimes being equal, it’s a question of how odd it is for a person with a controversy that touches current events escaping even ONE media question. Big bro just made sure to be present at each event to make the press “behave”.
This. I work in film in a position where I hear a lot of women who work on set (not actresses but in hair/makeup/costume/lighting/transport etc.) share some of the most despicable stories about what they have to put up with from their male co-workers.
Even though they’re unionized, it’s my experience that unions still aren’t equipped to adequately handle harassment claims, and producers often don’t want the bother. All of these women are freelancers so if they want to get hired again, they often feel like they have to keep their mouths shut about whatever happens to them at work lest they be labelled as trouble.
In one recent case a woman was actually assaulted by her male co-worker, the police were involved and the union kicked the dude out of the union, but his department (mostly dominated by men) used a loophole in their collective agreement to vote him back into the union. Now the poor woman loses work because she has to avoid shows this guy has been booked on. This type of stuff happens daily to women in film, but there’s no real recourse for a lot of them if they want to keep working in their chosen field.
It is not ok to compare to sexual predators. Respect their victims.
IMO this guy got free pass cos of his bro not cos he is white. But both of them should not be allowed to be next to females. Ever.
Ideally I’d love to agree with this. But where would we put all the bad men?
I agree with Milla. I think saying that they are getting different treatment because of race in this case is an over simplification. There is an obvious power factor. Ben is his brother and Matty D is his bro. They are bros. And bros are given a pass for a lot of things other people do not get away with. That’s one. The othet thing is that Nate’s case was quite straightforward. He raped a girl and she killed herself. In Affleck’s case I believe that a lot of people especially men are giving him a pass because they just do not think that he crossed the red line. What did he do? I am sure that there are men who think that he was just having fun and partying and what’s the big deal, no one got raped or killed, right? And i think there are also women who think that he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary because a lot of women experience harrasment in the workplace and just have to go on as if nothing happened.
wrong. not all crime is equally bad.
2016 – the year which showed the world just how an inferior complex white men have in America.
According to them, not women & minorities, but they suffer the most in the world.
Sorry newsflash…it doesn’t matter where you are in the world, and I’ve lived in several parts of it, it’s not just a “white guy in America” thing. From what I have seen, it’s a male thing period. Presumably you live in the States and maybe that’s all you’re seeing.
Do you know what the base rationale is behind the burka? Women are temptation. Men are weak. The mere flash of an ankle and they might not be able to control themselves. And you see that in rape trials pretty much everywhere. Wearing a miniskirt? Maybe you were asking for it.
Deep down inside, and I love men dearly, they all know that WE are the stronger sex.
Women get raped and killed/abused in Argentina and men explain it as “look how she was dressed!” or “she should have left; she had it coming for staying”
Men’s sense of superiority and their man tears are UNIVERSAL. Thus why women’s rights should be universal, too.
@Cee, unfortunately, there are women who will ask how she was dressed too. That needs to stop.
@Cee: Same mentality. Men can’t conttol themselves, so it’s up to the woman to not be temptation. And the various religions, patriarchal for the most part, have got a very strong role in reinforcing that.
Felicia, you speak the truth!
stronger? lol no.
What annoys me is that women in Hollywood don’t speak out enough about this. I know that they have less power in Hollywood but there are still plenty of female producers, directors and actresses who could club together and beat this, yet they don’t. Don’t get me wrong, I understand WHY they don’t but if being in any industry involved being abused I would report it and walk away. Can’t make movies if no women want to be in them.
Easier said than done. Reporting and walking away means you’re leaving behind a career/income/benefits, basically your livelihood (this is why many victims of sexual harassment in the workplace don’t report it). Moreover, although there are some powerful women in Hollywood, the studios are still mostly run by men. And these men view *all* women as disposable. I guarantee you, if Jennifer Lawrence accused Harvey Weinstein of abusing her tomorrow, her career would be done. Women in Hollywood won’t speak up because they know that, if they do, they will just be replaced by someone younger and more attractive.
I think it’s because it’s larger than just a group of women banding together to fight the issue. I mentioned above that I work in film in a position where I hear these types of harassment stories daily from women who work on set.
Film sets are still largely dominated by men and although obviously not every dude is terrible, for every one who would speak up to defend one of his female co-workers, there are five who wouldn’t say anything, or wouldn’t see what she’s getting so worked up about, and then not hire her again on the next show because she’s “too sensitive” or “too mouthy.” And no big deal if they don’t hire that woman again because there are a line of men just salivating at the opportunity to work on a film set.
It’s going to take a huge culture shift in the industry to teach people what’s appropriate behaviour at work, and develop strategies to protect women and punish harassers. One thing that would help hugely is to get more women on set in general, but there’s always pushback about that from many men in the industry for various reasons.
There are tons of groups out there working to help make that happen (I’m personally on two committees, plus pretty much every film festival you go to now has industry panels about these issues) but without getting the people in charge on board (a.k.a. a lot of old white dudes) it’s never going to happen.
The vast majority of roles go to men instead of women anyway. Even if women stopped working to boycott, the studios would just make movies with all men. They practically do that already since so many women’s roles are reduced down to being the supportive girlfriend or wife.
Casey is on the cover of the American Airlines mag this month. On a recent flight, my husband looked over and asked what I was doing. I was writing “sexual harasser” over Casey’s face.
Well done! If I’d been sitting near by I would have borrowed your pen and helped.
That’s fantastic, Megan.
Yeah right…..
I feel like people are forgetting that almost everyone was completely ignoring Nate Parkers past until he decided to talk about it himself. The full story had been out there since before he starred in Beyond the Lights, but you’d only see it occasionally pop up in a comments section or on Twitter before he set up that terrible interview to try and get ahead of a story everyone was comfortably bypassing.
It wasn’t even the rape that sunk him, it was his atrocious, wildly tone-deaf wording and the way he tried to present himself as holier than thou. That combined with the fact that his film and acting in said film didn’t live up to the hype put him on a different track than Affleck. If he’d said no comment or just denied it once and clammed up again, he was right on track to get kid gloves treatment.
I’m really uncomfortable with the way all these types of articles imply Parker was treated unfairly. He shouldn’t have been treated better, Affleck should be treated worse. Giving a rapist a pass because others have gotten a pass isn’t the answer.
This is what I was thinking, too. It’s not an apples to apples comparison — there’s a lot more nuance to what happened than simply “two guys committed the same crime and the white guy was given a pass and the black guy wasn’t.”
I agree. As gross as both men are, their crimes are not the same.
That said, I’m glad the accusations against Casey are being discussed more. It sounded like a disturbing pattern of behavior, and hopefully he has learned his lesson and stopped.
i also feel like it softens the crime of Nate Parker. raping a woman, then harrassing/bullying her and have her ultimately kill herself is worse than harassment.
there are obviously other factors at play, the insanely bad PR work for Parker for example, but im just not okay with comparing those two very different crimes.
also calling Casey Affleck a rapist, like i see lots of people do, is wrong.
I agree queen b. Also Nate did all these bad things (with another guy) to one woman and for a long time she suffered. I believe the other women have a very good chance of recovery (not that the behaviour is acceptable.) traumatic at first I’m sure as I’ve been victim to many incidents that are similar in the level of invasiveness. But then they fade to being part of rape culture that you see everywhere. It sounds like the harassment was over a few months and the physical parts were not invasive. Good that he was sued but it’s not rape or death
Yes I think that’s a big part of it. I’m not saying that race didn’t play any part but Nate Parker definitely sabotaged himself because of his strategy to ‘get ahead of the accusations’.
Have to say I agree with this. I like to take everything on a case by case basis and think in THIS INSTANCE it is not as simple as white male privilege. Hollywood is a hotbed for rape culture. And there are too many perpetrators for me to hope that behaviour like this will ever be properly addressed. You only have to look at how Cosby’s gross and criminal behaviour was swept under the carpet for YEARS.
Once again we agree.
This is a difficult subject to tackle in that I think it’s important to reiterate that white men DO absolutely get a free pass where black men do NOT. Our criminal justice system is proof of that. Again, I absolutely unequivocally believe that white men get insulated where black men do not.
However, Hollywood is a microcosm, subject to different rules than the larger world. Fame, power, wealth, celebrity are all things that shield ALL celebs from public scrutiny.
ETA: Happy New Year, I Choose Me! ♥ ♥
And in other news, water is wet.
The sun is hot, the sky is blue and he is clueless.
Nate and his partner in crime worked just fine in Hollywood for years. He never hid his past. I remember reading about it back when he was in another movie. He decided to do a print interview and address it first for his push for this movie. That tone-deaf, smug interview set in motion everything that followed. People reacted harshly to that interview. Women on the internet on sites of all races.Then her family came out blasting him and talked about her suicide. He just seemed to
dig.himself in deeper.
Two men having sex with a passed-out 19-year-old girl, inviting a third one, and ten stalking her on campus to intimidate her for going to the police, and being arrested, going to trial, friend convicted until granted a new trial are strong visuals. He and her other alleged attacker went on to have a successful career that she witnessed and she killed herself. Nate was arrogant about the allegations and I feel did himself in. Then he and his partner writing a gang rape scene for the movie was disturbing.
Casey is gross and there was harrassment and sexual harrassment snd a settlement. If Carey had started out with an interview playing the victim and smug, which I bet he would also, the internet would have gone crazy, and he would be spending his time doing damage control from the interview like Nate. He’s kept quiet. The women haven’t said a word publicly, unlike Nate’s victim’s sister and brother in several interviews, which really were damning interviews about their sister’s tragic life after.
Plus, for all the hype, Nate’s movie ended up getting average reviews, not Oscar worthy at least for the main awards, best movie , director, etc.
Affleck also isn’t being asked about it in interviews. So he doesn’t seem to on record either refusing to discuss these cases or making any comment on them.
It’s all of the above; he’s white, he’s connected, he’s had better PR advice, his victims are alive and settled civilly.
Hollywood only understands dollars. I said I won’t support Nate Parker in anything so I won’t. I also won’t be supporting Casey Affleck in anything. Sure there are some performers and presenters I would like to see on the coming awards shows…no problem I will catch clips and photos the next day on the Internet. I won’t be watching.
I don’t demand perfection from actors. I still love and adore some actors who cheated on their spouses, got into physical altercations, had DUIs. But I’ve drawn my line; this ongoing acceptance of the abuse of women. I’m done.
What you said. It is all of the above. And it does – ALL – have to stop.
This is an amazing comment. Here, here.
I’ll just pile on too and say “What she said.”
Hear, hear!
YES. Everything you said.
Amateurish and overwrought, The Birth of a Nation simply wasn’t a very good movie. All the rape revelations did was give critics permission to take the rose-colored glasses off and see the movie for the mediocrity it really is. I haven’t seen Manchester by the Sea yet, but the reviews/awards/nominations seem to point to it being an excellent film with an excellent lead performance. Because of this, you really can’t compare Parker and Affleck in this instance.
That part of the comparison I haven’t seen talked about here! Are the movies comparable or not? I guess I can do my own research on the reviews out by reputable sources since neither are films I’m seeing soon. Manchester looks dreary.
It didn’t even get great reviews out of Sundance. Early reviews were praising the worthiness of the story and Parkers drive to get it made, but thoughts on the actual film, especially the direction, were pretty lukewarm.
It got so much attention because of the bidding war and the fact that it sold for a lot. That’s not really an indicator of quality, it’s often the good but not great films that spark those kind of bidding wars.
I don’t see white privilege. The crimes were totally different. Also they are two different people from two different back grounds.
If anything it may be that Casey is just more privledged and connected but even that is pushing it because Nate Parker, Gang raped,harassed and basically was one of the men who drove a women to suicide.
Even after all these years he shows no remorse.
Casey sexual harassed women. Both serious cases, but not comparable.
Nate Parker failed himself, his career, and his reputation because he is a man who just refuses to see any fault in his actions.
It has nothing to do with him being black and Casey being white.
Maybe if they comitted the same crimes it would, but the way Nate went about it is what made people come down on him.
I completely agree. You cannot compare the two because they simply are not comparable. I’ll use the term I loathe for its over anencephaly often inaccurate use……..
false equivalence.
Two words: BILL CROSBY
I think you need to edit your spelling if you meant Bill Cosby and not Bing Crosby. Frankly, both men were and are awful.
Sweeping. The portrait of Bing Crosby by his son Gary in a book was horrible. Other kids had very different accounts. On the wider issues, I think Casey is an excellent actor, but the accounts portray pretty awful behaviour. However, expecting the film industry to act as the moral police and damage someone’s career is both unrealistic and ethically dubious. It is very unlikely to happen in a country which has elected pus@sy grabber Donald Trump – albeit on a minority of the popular vote – as president. Individuals can obviously boycott the film as an indication of their views.
Is Casey Affleck really THAT good in his new movie? I figure they could give his award to another white guy who probably gave just as decent a performance. He’s not in a Viola Davis situation where he’s so phenomenally talented that it would be a travesty that he didn’t get an award or the only person from his race being nominated.
From what Ive read is only between Casey and Denzel for Fences.
He’s actually excellent in it. I saw it with a friend, who dragged me along because I guess I’m the only person she thought would see it with her, and I was impressed. The trailers are slightly misleading and make it look like some sort of coming of age film but it’s really not. It’s quite sad and Casey and Michelle Williams are great (I am rooting for Viola too but if it were a different year I’d be all about Michelle).
The issue is, should Casey still be getting roles and chances in Hollywood? That’s the big problem. Men seem to be given second chance after second chance and white men are particularly insulated from criticism and having their careers become DOA. Shoot even Mel Gibson is getting second chances this award season.
Yes. He really is THAT good in this film. His character is a pit of heartbreaking despair, guilt, and raw grief who can’t pull himself together for himself but must pull himself together for someone else. Casey delivers.
And Michelle Williams goes to a place so dark and painful with only about 15 minutes of screen time total. If Viola weren’t in the same category, that Oscar would have Michelle’s name on it already.
And Lukas Hedges delivers a brilliant comic performance in the midst of all the grief.
I can believe he’s that good. But because white male actors are given so many opportunities to succeed, I can also believe that there probably is another out there who gave a performance to equal his. That’ s usually how it seems to go in the Best Actors category (i.e Michael Keaton vs Eddie Redmayne that one year). So I think the award in his category could probably be given to someone else without much fuss or controversy.
I’ll probably have to see it because of Michelle Williams. Love her.
Yeah, he is. The movie itself needed to be better edited but the acting is excellent. Very good cast. Michelle Williams has one scene in particular that is a real standout-that scene got her the nomination.
Well, yes. He is.
Casey is 1000% protected by his white skin and his white friends and his last name.. Do you think if Jamie foxx was sued for sexual harassment he’d be fine? Or Michael B Jordan? Sterling K Brown? David Oyelowo? John David Washington (who is Denzel’s son)?
Nate parker’s movie was bought for 17.5 million at the Sundance film festival. That’s the highest price a movie was ever sold in the history of Sundance. It received two standing ovations. Do we really thing it failed and got bad reviews because of the movie? Are we still that naive?
Bill Cosby sure has been getting away with some s**t for years. It’s definitely not always black and white.
The public did seem to turn on him though once everyone realized what he did. I’m not really sure if the same has happened to Woody Allen.
@Georgia – agree with the first part of your comment. But it’s a pretty widely held belief that the reaction to Parker’s movie at Sundance was over-compensation for #OscarsSoWhite, and when people (critics and audiences) actually looked at it critically months later they decided the movie wasn’t that good.
And water is wet
Or maybe because his last name is Affleck and he is not new to the scene. I don’t doubt that whiteness does play some role, but I think the key insulation material here is fame and being part of Hollywood royalty.
Not that its okay.
It’s true. That and in addition to the fact that he’s Ben’s brother and Matt Damon’s friend. He has a certainly level of insulation from these accusations.
Honestly, if Mel Gibson didn’t exist, I would buy the whole white privilege thing, but there’s proof that it’s not exactly skin color what protects actors in Hollywood. I really think the industry’s position against actors involved in offenses against women is shameful, but in this particular case, I believe Nate Parker’s problem was that a) the accusations against him were way more serious and the victim comitted suicide and b) his own zero empathy attitude didn’t help. Not to mention, Affleck is somewhat well established and has a powerful brother to back him up, while Parker was a newbie.
Perhaps you haven’t been privy to Mel’s comeback? He took his raps on the knuckle and is rapidly returning to their good graces. Mel may not be the best example for dispelling white privilege.
Yes, after a decade. And even so, I doubt the Academy will consider him too much. He made a great movie, and that’s the only reason why they are half considering him back in (still, if you read most comments about his ‘comeback’, they are still bashing him). Im not saying there’s not white privilege in the industry, but I don’t think in this particular case that’s the main reason why Affleck has got a pass when Parker didn’t.
I think part of it is race but a bigger part of it, in this case, is Casey’s connections to the HW A-list power machine. Matt Damon was a producer on the movie and Casey is Affleck’s baby brother. From what I’ve read, both Damon and/or Big Brother Affleck made sure to turn out to a lot of screenings and press events for the film, tossing their A-list weight around and making sure their presence and support of Casey was known. I would imagine that presence and support, along with access to better advice/PR support, was enough to largely remove any scandal from these 2 sexual harrassement cases from Casey’s awards campaign.
Before I made a decision, I looked up the allegations (it’s a filed lawsuit so public record). Being sued for sexual harassment can involve a range of behaviors- including failing to properly supervise others as the boss. The alleged facts against Casey are very bad. They do involve physical intimidation and it is long term and repeated. It is not quite as bad as what Nate Parker is accused of but it’s very serious. He settled with two women, ;93 an undisclosed amount. I think there is privilege of some type protecting this guy.
He just seems like a huge an utter d!ck. Thinks he’s the bees knees. Dude, you aren’t. You are a brat from boston.
Agree. The douchiness is strong.
I dont think it is because of skin colour. Its because of WHO they are and WHO they are acquainted with. Casey with Ben Affleck..an A-lister and we all know those A-listers are untouchable regardless of skin colour. Dont make this a race thing. This is a Hollywood thing. Hollywood is run by perverts.
sooo weeks or months ago when i said WOWOWOW White privilege everyone seemingly jumped down my throat to specify and clarify about how its soooo different and this and that (much like white folks do when you call them out on hypocritical stuff) …..and VOILA NYT and variety and journalist are running with traction on the inequities of treatment and sentiment between Nate and Casey…
I hope they shut his ish down…. and his cronies on the set (Joaquin included) who allowed this awfulness to happen…. these women were like 2 seconds from being raped, they were probably blackballed, threatened, groped, sexually assaulted etc. etc. And I for one wont compare in the cases of what happened with Nate and Casey…but casey needs to be ousted and banished.