Hey, Ben Affleck. When Rose McGowan called you out for being dismissive of Harvey Weinstein, we already thought you were a bit dodgy. Now, it turns out you’ve sexually harassed your co-stars in the past too? Wow.
Don’t get us wrong, speaking up against Harvey is the right thing to do. No one should ever condone what he did and be an enabler to it. But people have receipts, and Ben just looks like a hypocrite.
In 2004, Ben groped One Tree Hill star Hilarie Burton’s breast on an episode of TRL. “And he wraps his arm around me and tweaks my left boob,” she said in an old interview.
One netizen pointed this out and said, “Everyone forgot though.” But Hilarie responded and admitted that she still remembers the incident.
Ben tweeted an apology to Hilarie, saying that he acted inappropriately. Years after it happened, he apologizes just now because the incident was brought up again? Come on.
Another incident that popped up was Ben’s 2003 interview with Canadian TV host Anne-Marie Losique. Here, you’ll see Anne-Marie sitting on Ben’s lap while he squeezes her and tells her to show more cleavage so more people will watch her show.
However, Anne-Marie disputed this and said that it was all part of her ongoing skit. “I know that people like fishing for anything, but this is completely out of context. I would like this to not have any negative impact on him. I find it sad,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. She did acknowledge how much of a “player” he was. But still, that doesn’t make Ben’s words okay.
Just a few hours ago, makeup artist Annamarie Tendler also came out with allegations that Ben groped her during a Golden Globes party in 2014. “He walked by me, cupped my butt and pressed his finger into my crack,” she tweeted.
If you’re trying to fight against sexual harassment, make sure that your skeletons don’t come back and haunt you.
Art by Lara Intong
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