Ben Affleck suddenly thinks it’s important for men to support women who have been sexually harassed and/or abused.
That’s pretty interesting considering the fact his career was catapulted by alleged serial predator Harvey Weinstein, actions Affleck appeared to do nothing to stop during their time working together.
Weinstein has been accused of absolutely horrific actions towards defenseless woman, and it’s started a chain reaction throughout the industry.
Affleck talked with Stephen Colbert Thursday night about the scandal ripping apart Hollywood, and said the following:
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.
…
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 that, for me as a man, I have the privilege of not having to deal with.
First off, good for Colbert for pushing Affleck to discuss Weinstein and his own allegations of sexual misconduct. He really doesn’t want to be talking about his former mentor and the man responsible for his career being so big now being revealed as a disgusting person.
Much more importantly, it’s pretty rich for Ben Affleck, who was tried to hide the fact his ancestors owned slaves, to now try to act like a moral authority on protecting and respecting women. Give me a break. Anybody closely associated with Weinstein has no right to lecture anybody. They can claim they didn’t know all they want, but how does anybody know Weinstein for a decade and a half while remaining unaware of any allegations and remaining completely in the dark?
Affleck also produces and directs films, and yet he talks about a wage gap, men belittling women, and not respecting them in relation to work. He literally has the power to end all of that for movies he’s associated with given his position of power. Affleck could write a check at any moment if he thinks women are paid too little. That’d get people a lot further than lecturing America on how to respect women. Of course, that’d hit his pocket book. Always easier to just talk a big game.
Instead, Affleck goes on late night television to try to tell men how to be better. Did he stop to think that most of us don’t have guilty consciouses that drive us to over compensate by lecturing others? This would be a different story if Affleck came out way harder against Weinstein, or didn’t wait until everybody else had already made it the flashy thing to do.
Affleck played the Weinstein situation with extreme caution, and didn’t make a move until it was safe. Now he thinks he’s qualified to tell the rest of us how to treat others. I’m not buying it and nobody else is either.