According to Deadline, Casey Affleck has “withdrawn” from presenting the Best Actress award to this year’s winner at the Oscars.
Affleck wasn’t officially set to present the award, but the Academy typically has whoever won the previous year’s Best Actor award — which, in this year’s case, would indeed be Affleck — present the Oscar to the next year’s Best Actress winner.
Affleck won the Best Actor Oscar last year for his performance in Manchester by the Sea. He won’t even attend the show this year, according to PEOPLE.
Despite the film and Affleck himself receiving critical acclaim throughout last year’s awards season, two sexual harassment lawsuits against him from 2010 resurfaced. Affleck denied the allegations and the suits have since been settled out of court.
Some were already calling on the Academy to refuse Affleck as a presenter, including the women’s advocacy organization UltraViolet. The group suggested having all-women presenters like this year’s SAG Awards did.
“This year especially, the Oscars need to step up and demonstrate their commitment to women in Hollywood – and one, urgent and important step they can take is to commit to only having women present the awards this year,” said Karin Roland, Chief Campaigns Officer for UltraViolet.
The Academy Awards are March 4.