Casey Affleck, an actor who has been accused of sexual harassment by female crew members on earlier films, has withdrawn as a presenter at the 2018 Academy Awards, a spokeswoman for the organization said on Thursday.
Affleck, 42, who won the best actor Oscar last year for his performance in the family drama ?Manchester by the Sea,? was expected to present this year?s best actress award.
A spokeswoman for Affleck, Mara Buxbaum, confirmed that Affleck would not be attending the Academy Awards ceremony this year, but declined further comment.
Affleck, the younger brother of actor and director Ben Affleck, topped challenges from Denzel Washington and Ryan Gosling to win the 2017 award.
The win came despite 2010 sexual harassment accusations that resurfaced in the run-up to the ceremony. Two lawsuits alleging unwanted advances were filed by female crew members on another movie and were settled out of court for undisclosed sums.
An attorney for Affleck denied the accusations at the time.
