Ben Affleck says the surge of sexual harassment allegations engulfing Hollywood has led him to take a hard look at his own actions, and now he is planning to use a portion of his wealth to help make a change.
In an interview on Sunday with The Associated Press promoting the new superhero film Justice League, Affleck said he’s ‘looking at my own behavior and addressing that and making sure I’m part of the solution.’
After condemning Harvey Weinstein’s actions last month, Affleck was forced to defend his own conduct.
Soul-searching: Ben Affleck says after reflecting on his own behavior in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, he wants to make sure he is ‘part of the solution. Pictured right: a young Affleck poses with Weinstein in 1998
Affleck, 45, spoke out about Hollywood’s ‘elephant in the room’ while promoting the latest superhero flick Justice League. Pictured: (L-R) Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot, Ben Affleck, Ray Fisher and Henry Cavill on November 4 in London
He apologized on Twitter for groping the actress Hilarie Burton on camera in 2003 when she was a host on MTV’s Total Request Live.
Another video from 2004 showed Affleck pulling Montreal TV host Anne-Marie Losique onto his lap and talking about her breasts.
Speaking Sunday, Affleck said two things need to happen, that ‘more women need to be pushed to power’ and that sexual harassment has to also be ‘a men’s issue’ where guys call out inappropriate behavior.
In an interview with Fox DC, the Academy Award winner said he will be pledging his future residuals from Weinstein Company and Miramax films to charities that benefit women.
Affleck said he was inspired by fellow director Kevin Smith, who announced last month that he will be donating all future residuals from all of his Miramax films, including Clerks, Chasing Amy and Jersey Girl, which starred Affleck, to the nonprofit group Women In Films, which supports female filmmakers.
Named and shamed: Affleck apologized on Twitter last month for groping the actress Hilarie Burton on camera in 2003 when she was a host on MTV’s Total Request Live (pictured)
Radio silence: Affleck has been absent from Twitter since posting this message on October 11
‘Once Kevin suggested that, I decided to the same thing,’ Affleck said. ‘So I am giving any further residuals that I get from a Miramax or a Weinstein movie… to either [Film Independent] or to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network).
‘I just didn’t want to cash any more checks from the guy [Weinstein],’ Affleck added.
His latest film, a DC Comics ensemble vehicle starring Gal Gadot, Henry Cavill and Amy Adams, was produced by Warner Bros.
Affleck and his close friend and collaborator Matt Damon owe their careers to Weinstein after winning a best original screenplay Oscar in 1998 for Good Will Hunting.
The film, which they both starred in, was produced by The Weinstein Company.
The 45-year-old actor and director publicly apologized in October after Hilarie Burton, who is currently married to The Walking Dead star Jeffrey Dean Morgan, accused him of grabbing her breast 14 years ago.
Handsy: A 2004 interview with TV host Anne-Marie Losique went viral last month. In it, Affleck was seen sitting with the female presenter on his lap and discussing her breasts
Losique later insisted that she was not a victim of harassment, and that it was all just an act
‘I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize’, he wrote on Twitter.
Burton shared the allegations just hours after Affleck made a statement saying he was ‘saddened and angry’ over Weinstein’s alleged abusive actions targeting women.
Affleck’s statement was swiftly slammed by a number of people, including outspoken Weinstein accuser Rose McGowan, who blasted Affleck on Twitter as a ‘liar.’
When a fan tweeted that Affleck might as well have ‘kept quiet’, another Twitter user wrote: ‘He also grabbed Hilarie Burton’s breasts on TRL once. Everyone forgot though.’
The actress then surprised the Twitter thread by interjecting with: ‘I didn’t forget.’
The incident reportedly happened when he appeared on the show in 2003. Burton was 21.
A video clip from the show shows Affleck telling Burton a story mid-interview, which appears to be about moves men use to pick up women.
He leans his arm around the young host who is wearing a yellow bandeau dress. No groping is seen on camera but Burton noticeably jumps and looks shocked on the footage as Affleck smiles and returns to his seat.
Putting his money where his mouth is: Affleck, pictured above in October 2016 with Weinsten and Matt Damon, said he will be pledging his future residuals from Weinstein Company and Miramax films to charities that benefit women
As Affleck apologized to Burton for allegedly groping her, a 2004 interview with TV host Anne-Marie Losique went viral. In it, Affleck was seen sitting with the female presenter on his lap and discussing her cleavage.
Losique, however, later insisted that she was not a victim of harassment.
‘This was for the camera. You have to understand that we have done dozens and dozens of interviews like that. It was for a show I was producing, so I was not at all a victim,’ Losique told The Hollywood Reporter.
Losique said the interview was just an act and as soon as the cameras were off ‘there was none of that’.
‘He never touched me in any improper way. He was very respectful,’ the Canadian host said, adding that she’s not ‘thrilled’ to have the interview mixed in with the sexual harassment allegations against Weinstein because she doesn’t ‘think that is at all the same thing’.
Affleck’s brother, Casey, has also been accused of sexual harassment targeting female assistants working on a mockumentary project, and many were enraged when he won Best Actor for his performance in Manchester By The Sea at the 2017 Academy Awards.
So far, Harvey Weinstein has been accuse of sexual harassment or assault by over 100 women. He was last spotted on Thursday dining in Arizona, where he has been attending in-patient rehab.
On Friday, the NYPD said that if the 65-year-old producer had still been in the city, he would likely have been arrested already for the suspected rape of actress Paz de la Huerta in 2010.