_Bizzy Emerson is a junior journalism major at MU. She writes about feminism and pop culture as an opinion columnist for The Maneater._
I hate Casey Affleck. I wish I could sugarcoat it, but I can’t.
If you had asked me a year ago what I thought of Affleck, I would’ve sung his praises from the rooftops. His character in “Good Will Hunting” is one of my favorite film performances, and on a more superficial level, I found him a lot more charming, endearing and attractive than his famous brother, Ben. I was a huge Casey fan.
Recently, sexual harassment allegations against Affleck from 2010 have been brought back into the spotlight following the success of his film “Manchester by the Sea,” and the claims are nothing short of disturbing. On the set of his mockumentary “I’m Still Here,” Affleck made inappropriate sexual advances on two female crew members while simultaneously using hateful language towards women.
Although these allegations were settled out of court, it’s difficult for me to shake them from Affleck’s image. Furthermore, Affleck’s recent Academy Award win for Best Actor in a Leading Role leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth.
It can be extremely hard to separate the artist from the art. I grappled heavily with this issue when Woody Allen was accused of sexually assaulting his own daughter. I struggle to listen to an addictively catchy Chris Brown song without thinking of the trauma Rihanna and, more recently, Karrueche Tran both endured. I felt the same way about watching “Manchester by the Sea” — does my viewership of something that inherently supports a sexual predator mean that I, too, support that individual?
Affleck, Allen and Brown have all been awarded for their professional success, despite allegations against their private character. Many will argue that awards should be given solely based on talent and that personal merit shouldn’t be considered. But if we ignore these allegations in the entertainment sector and celebrate and give accolades to people of poor character, it begins to bleed into other areas of public life.
Take our current president, Donald Trump, for example. He was recorded saying sexually abhorrent things about women, yet he was still elected. I expect my president to have a straight moral compass, one that respects all gender identities. If I can’t receive that respect from my president, why should I expect it from pop culture figures? On some level, I can understand why separating the politics from the politician is important, but when the leader of our nation is so blatantly disgusting towards women, I begin to worry that policy regarding women’s rights will suffer. Likewise, from a holistic perspective, I see rape culture becoming even more normalized than it already is.
No one is forced to partake in entertainment that makes them feel uncomfortable. That being said, it’s unfair that individuals who have been sexually assaulted can’t enjoy awards shows because they see their assaulter in people like Casey Affleck or Chris Brown. Perhaps it’s time to start considering these damaging characteristics when entering awards season, if only to demonstrate empathy with survivors and enforce the fact that men cannot harass women and get away with it.
