Actress Constance Wu excoriates Casey Affleck’s Oscar nomination
The 'Fresh Off the Boat' star wasn't the only one who raised questions about the Cambridge's native's past.
Casey Affleck has received numerous awards and widespread praise for his performance in Manchester by the Sea, but not everyone was pleased when the Cambridge native received an Oscar nomination Tuesday morning.
Actress Constance Wu, star of the ABC sitcom Fresh Off the Boat, criticized the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for nominating Affleck in a series of sarcastic tweets. Wu referenced a pair of sexual harassment lawsuits brought against Affleck by a producer and director of photography who worked with him on the 2010 film I’m Still Here. Affleck reached out-of-court settlements with both women.
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/823906218963939328
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/823908642705412096
The actress also posted notes from a conversation she had with actor Peter Shinkoda about Affleck’s nomination.
“Art doesn’t exist for the sake of awards, but awards DO exist to honor all that art is trying to accomplish in life,” Wu wrote. “So context matters. Because in acting, human life matters.”
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/823914886463766528?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Affleck’s representatives could not immediately be reached for comment.
Wu tweeted that she wasn’t worried about her comments potentially damaging her career, and that she cared most about the message the Academy was sending to children with Affleck’s nomination.
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/823915581963284480
https://twitter.com/ConstanceWu/status/824666414120185856
Many thanked Wu for taking a stand against the Academy.
Having worked with one of the women who was assaulted, thank you for this.
— Tony Becerra 🍉🍉🍉 (@Becerra_ad) January 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/AliPitargoo/status/823918802555453442
Wu has also criticized the casting of Affleck’s pal Matt Damon in the film The Great Wall, which is due in theaters Feb. 17. In July, Wu tweeted that casting Damon as the film’s hero enforced racist myths and whitewashed the film.
Affleck isn’t the only Oscar nominee currently facing criticism for past incidents. Mel Gibson, who received a Best Director nomination for Hacksaw Ridge, faced public outcry in 2006 when TMZ posted audio of his misogynistic, anti-Semitic rant during a DUI arrest, and again in 2010, when he allegedly left a threatening voicemail full of racist and misogynistic comments for former girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva.
Gibson’s recent nomination inspired some, including The Boston Globe film critic Ty Burr, to sound off.
https://twitter.com/tyburr/status/823905343746908167
Congratulations on your Oscar nom, Mel Gibson, you racist, misogynistic, antisemite pig fuck.
— (((Jew))) (@JoshMalina) January 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/angelicabastien/status/823925812562890754
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