With all the claims of sexual harassment, assault and misconduct that have been rocking Hollywood, Ben Affleck has not been immune. Last month, the Justice League star was accused of groping actress Hilarie Burton during a 2003 appearance on MTV’s TRL. Affleck issued an apology to Burton via Twitter.
Then, just last week, out of either basic human decency or a desperate attempt to improve his public image, Affleck announced he would follow Kevin Smith’s lead and donate any residuals from Weinstein Company or Miramax-produced films that he worked on to charity. Things were kind of looking up for him.
However, a video from a Justice League press interview last week has emerged, and people are livid all over again. In the video, the interviewer asks Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg, what would happen if Supergirl joined the Justice League. Fisher diplomatically replied, “I think it would create a different dynamic.” Affleck then felt the need to (unnecessarily) add, “You following the news at all?”
— ً (@stormpiIott) November 13, 2017
First of all, his remarks are vague and a little hard to interpret, so it’s difficult to decide what he meant by them. However, many social media users feel that his comment was a crass joke about the recent news stories about sexual harassment.
The fact that Ben Affleck has the AUDACITY to make a joke about sexual assault in Hollywood, especially given his track record and the allegations against his brother, is baffling. https://t.co/aXwYnHQT5l
— Jade Budowski (@jadebudowski) November 15, 2017
ezra miller’s reaction to ben affleck’s joke about all the sexual assault allegations in hollywood is what i live for pic.twitter.com/n9gzwrUI4z
— lia (@hemlockspidey) November 14, 2017
I sincerely hope that Affleck’s comment was just a bizarre slip of the tongue that came after a long day of press for his new film. But I feel like I need to repeat something I’ve said before: It’s never acceptable to joke about harassment or assault. Period. Let’s hope that Affleck’s PR team has a little chat with him about appropriate behavior before he continues on this press tour.