Ben Affleck admitted that he knew Harvey Weinstein was ‘sleazy and a bully’ during a Today show appearance Friday morning where he was promoting his latest movie release, the Justice League.
The 45-year-old Oscar winner, who has reprised his role as Batman in the new movie to hit theaters on Friday, was grilled by Savannah Guthrie about the growing mountain of sexual misconduct allegations currently gripping the film industry.
‘It certainly feels like a really important moment,’ Affleck said. ‘It feels like a time when survivors are finding their voice and people are sort of, and I include myself in this, really discovering this terrible extent of this problem here in our country.
‘I certainly don’t think it’s just limited to Hollywood, but I expect if you see this this prevalent in this industry, it must extend into it finance and tech and all of these other places and its really disturbing.’
He added that it is ‘inspiring to see people come forward and assert themselves and that’s very moving.’
Ben Affleck admitted that he knew Harvey Weinstein was ‘sleazy and a bully’ during a Today show appearance Friday morning where he was promoting his latest movie release, the Justice League.
The 45-year-old Oscar winner, who has reprised his role as Batman in the new movie to hit theaters on Friday, was grilled by Savannah Guthrie about the growing mountain of sexual misconduct allegations currently gripping the film industry
When asked by Guthrie about his relationship with Weinstein, Affleck said that he knew ‘he was sleazy and kind of a bully’ when he met the disgraced producer when he was knew to Hollywood at 24 years old.
‘But unfortunately that was not that uncommon,’ he added in regards to the industry.
‘I didn’t know much of anything really. It really is a shame because although I stopped working with Harvey a long time ago I kind of, those movies hold a special kind of place in my heart.
‘And to now look back on it and think, “Gosh some other people were going through something really ugly and disturbing, difficult and terrible and terrifying” while that was happening, it’s kind of, you know the only thing I can think about is do is give my residuals from my Harvey movies to a couple of organizations that I think are making a difference to reconcile that.’
He added, ‘It’s sort of way for me to feel better about that early stage in my career when I made those movies with him.’
Affleck was also asked about actress Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of rape and sexual misconduct, and if he she told him something along the way about the alleged sexual assault.
He said: ‘I certainly don’t think it’s just limited to Hollywood, but I expect if you see this this prevalent in this industry, it must extend into it finance and tech and all of these other places and its really disturbing’
‘I don’t really want to get into other peoples individual stories because I feel like those are there stories and I feel they are entitled to tell as much or as little of those as they want,’ he responded. ‘I believe rose, I support her, I really like and admire her tenacity and I wish her the best.’
During a Thursday night appearance on Stephen Colbert, Affleck was grilled by the late night host about Weinstein.
Colbert noted to the actor that the ‘person who started your career was [disgraced film producer] Harvey Weinstein’, to which Ben responded: ‘This is a comedy show, correct?’.
Colbert said the show also covers ‘subjects of the moment’ and asked Affleck about his association with Weinstein.
The actor let out a long sigh before saying he understood the reasoning.
When asked about the claims made by actress Rose McGowan against Weinstein, Affleck said: ‘I believe rose, I support her, I really like and admire her tenacity and I wish her the best’
‘It was awful to see the extent of these terrible crimes. I haven’t worked with Harvey for more than 20 or 15 years,’ Affleck said.
The Oscar winner said the Weinstein scandal has ‘tainted’ his affinity for movies such as Shakespeare In Love, Chasing Amy and other Weinstein films that he starred in knowing now that women had been allegedly assaulted and traumatized.
Affleck said he was going to donate his residuals from Miramax movies to charities that benefit women.
‘I don’t want to cash a check from the guy,’ Affleck said to applause from the audience.
Colbert then brought up that Affleck himself had been ‘accused of a few things’ and noted that he apologized for his behavior before asking if the awareness would be a ‘passing thing’ in Hollywood.
Hot seat: Ben Affleck was grilled about his association with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein while promoting Justice League on The Late Late Show on Thursday
The host: Stephen Colbert also questioned Affleck about sexual abuse allegations levied against the actor
‘What I was accused of by a woman [Hilarie Burton] was of touching her breast while giving her a hug. I don’t remember it, but I absolutely apologized for it. I certainly don’t think she’s lying or making it up,’ Affleck said.
‘It’s just the kind of thing we have to as men, as we become more aware of this, be more mindful of our behavior and hold ourselves accountable and say, ”If I was ever part of the problem, I want to change. I want to be part of the solution.’’ And to not shy away from these awkward or strange encounters we might have have had,’ he added.
Affleck acknowledged being uncomfortable during a recent interview when the subject arose and lauging awkwardly.
‘I think the most important thing to do is to support the voices coming forward, believe them, and create a business where more women are empowered and in place so less of this happens. And so that there is a way of reporting this stuff so that people can feel safe doing it,’ he said.
Affleck also addressed male privilege.
Tainted love: The actor said his experience with Miramax Films was ‘tainted’ by Weinstein and he was going to donate his residuals from them to charities that benefit women
Team up: Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Affleck as Batman and Ezra Miller as The Flash are shown in a still from Justice League
‘I thought I had a sense of the scope of the problem and I thought I understood it and the truth is I really didn’t,’ Affleck said.
‘I didn’t understand what it’s like to be groped, to be harassed, to be interrupted, talked over, paid less, you know, pushed around, belittled: all the things that women deal with, for me as a man, I have the privilege of not having to deal with.
‘Part of this for me has been listening to people I really care about and love as they tell me stories of stuff that has happened to them, this is men and women, and recognizing it’s a real thing. I’m not spokesman, I’m not a superhero, I can’t change it by myself. I can just be accountable for myself and my actions,’ Affleck said.
During a press stop at MTV with the entire cast of the movie last week, Affleck made a joke about sexual assault that left everyone visibly stunned during the cringeworthy moment.
Justice League co-star Ray Fisher, who plays Cyborg in the new film, was asked about what would happen if Supergirl joined the squad.
Fisher replied that he thinks ‘it would create a different dynamic.’
But Affleck cut him off and blurted out, “You following the news at all?”
It’s unclear exactly what he meant by that statement, but he was quickly slammed on social media for the remark as it made light of the recent rise of sexual misconduct allegations in Hollywood.