American actress Constance Wu, best known for her role as Jessica Huang in the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat, has called out the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for nominating Casey Affleck for an OSCAR.
She criticised the Academy for overlooking the two separate allegations of sexual harassment filed against Affleck in 2010.
Producer, Amanda White, and cinematographer, Magdalena Gorka, attempted to sue Affleck, accusing him of verbal and physical harassment through the filming of Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary I’m Still Here.
On Tuesday, Affleck was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Manchester by the Sea.
"Men who sexually harass women for OSCAR!," Wu posted to Twitter. Sarcastically, obviously.
"Because good acting performance matters more than humanity and human integrity! Because the poor kid really needs the help!"
Wu followed this with another tweet, implying Affleck issued a pay out to the women involved, this way ensuring the allegations never saw a courtroom.
White and Gorka sued for $2 million and $2.25 million respectively. When they filed their lawsuits in 2010, Affleck denied all allegations and threatened to countersue. He agreed to mediation, however, and settled both suits for an undisclosed amount.
"Boys! BUY your way out of trouble by settling out of court!," Wu tweeted yesterday. "Just do a good acting job, that's all that matters! Because art isn't about humanity,right?"
She wasn't done.
Next, she shared a screen shot of a passage she wrote while talking with Canadian actor Peter Shinkoda.
In it, she says Affleck's win will be a nod to victory of US President Donald Trump.
"Art doesn't exist for the sake of awards, but awards DO exist to honour all that art is trying to accomplish in life," the passage reads. "So context matters. Because, in acting, human life matters."
Finally, Wu said she was warned against speaking out on this issue "for the sake of her career". But, she says, she is a "woman and a human first".
The public response has been varied.
Some are grateful to Wu for speaking out and for standing up for women's rights in an industry that has, for too-long, overlooked, not only a woman's right to equal pay and recognition, but the basic human right women and children have to safety.
Others aren't convinced it's the Academy's role to acknowledge allegations of sexual harassment and abuse.
Others point out the more concerning factor in this; that Affleck wasn't taken to court and hasn't been proved guilty of sexual harassment. They suggest presuming someone's guilt can be dangerous to society, and highly damaging to the individual involved.
Top Comments
So it's purely allegations and without any charges, yet still the social media vigilantes hone in. I have no idea who this person is, but this vigilante trend of blacklisting, boycotting and shaming anyone for any unproven allegation is one of the worst features of todays social media.
Yet these actors all still love Polanski. Hypocrites everywhere.
Please show me where Constance Wu admires Polanski?
Bollocks. I can just about guarantee that any actor who has a problem with Affleck simultaneously has a problem with Polanski,
This particular troll has three or four different names and constantly trots this Polanski nonsense out. Apparently unless and woman is constantly talking about how much she dislikes Polanski then she must be pro-Polanski.
They also ignore the numerous open letters, tweets, blogs, interviews and articles that show the many, many Hollywood professionals calling out Polanski and his criminal behaviour.