If there's anything that the Harvey Weinstein scandal might have brought, aside from encouraging sexual assault victims to be brave and to come out, it is to make other celebrities, like Ben Affleck, conduct an assessment of their own actions.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the "Gone Girl" actor divulged that the controversy surrounding his comments and past actions had led him to do a self-check. Affleck said that he was "making sure I'm part of the solution."
Previously, the "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" actor condemned Weinstein's actions through social media, saying that the film mogul had used his power to sexually assault women for a long time and added that people should support those who were coming out. However, his comment earned significant backlash as several people pointed out that Affleck knew of some of the events but kept quiet about them, others brought up their own sexual harassment stories involving Affleck, and some found videos of the actor misbehaving.
A 2003 groping incident caught on video resurfaced, showing the "Argo" star in MTV's "Total Request Live." It involved "One Tree Hill" actress Hilarie Burton, who was a host at the time. Burton said on Twitter that she did not forget the unfortunate event and explained that her age had affected how she had handled the situation. For his part, Affleck apologized for "acting inappropriately" towards Burton via social media.
Another video reaped bad publicity for the 45-year-old actor. The 2004 clip showed Anne-Marie Losique interviewing Affleck when the latter pulled Losique into his lap. He was heard saying sexual remarks while hugging the interviewee. Affleck said that viewers would love the show if Losique had shown more cleavage. Losique, meanwhile, downplayed the incident and said that the clip was taken out of context and added that it was all for the show. She claimed that she was not a victim and clarified that Affleck did not do anything inappropriate after the takes.
