At least for Casey Affleck, 41, the bad side of winning Best Actor at the Academy Awards 2017 for his performance in "Manchester by the Sea" is the revival of a controversy he was involved in years ago. Some viewers noticed that presenter Brie Larson, 27,did not clap after giving the Oscar trophy to the younger brother of Ben Affleck, 44.
In 2010, Casey was sued by Amanda White and Magdalena Gorka who worked with him as a producer and a cinematographer, respectively, for the film "I'm Still Here." The two women accused the actor of sexual harassment.
The lawsuits filed by White and Gorka were settled out of court. Details of any financial settlement were not released but they both received credit for their work on "I'm Still Here."
Casey was already subjected to protests when it was announced that he was among the Academy Award 2017 Best Actor nominees. The controversy was even more ignited when he won the award over "Hacksaw Ridge" actor Andrew Garfield, "La La Land" actor Ryan Gosling, "Captain Fantastic actor Viggo Mortensen and "Fences" actor Denzel Washington.
After winning the Oscar trophy for Best Actor, Casey addressed the issue in an interview with Boston Globe. The actor pointed out that he and the people involved in the sexual harassment lawsuits are not allowed to commenting on them.
"I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent and everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else," Casey told the publication. "There's really nothing I can do about it, other than live my life the way I know I live it and to speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time."
In another with Variety in 2016, Casey pointed out that it does not matter he person responds to the issue. It is wrong for people to think that it is perfectly fine to say anything they want those who are well-known because everyone has families and lives, he added.
Watch Larson give the Oscar trophy to Casey here: