Ben Affleck knew Harvey Weinstein abused his power from the very beginning, but at the age of 24, he didn’t think there was anything he could do about it.
“I knew he was sleazy and kind of a bully, but unfortunately that wasn’t uncommon,” the “Justice League” star said Friday on the “Today” show. “I was brand new to Hollywood … I was 24 years old. I never made a movie and didn’t know much of anything, really.”
Affleck, now 45, worked with Weinstein, 65, on a slew of films, including “Shakespeare in Love” and “Good Will Hunting,” the latter of which earned him an Academy Award in 1998 for Best Original Screenplay. With more than 80 women having come forward to accuse the disgraced mogul of sexual harassment and assault, Affleck maintains he would like to be “part of the solution.”
“And, you know, it really is a shame because although I stopped working with Harvey a long time ago, those movies hold a special kind of place in my heart and to now look back on it and think like, ‘Gosh, some other people were going through something really ugly and disturbing [experiences],’” he said.
Affleck pledged to give his residual checks for the movies he made with Weinstein to anti-sexual violence organizations. He also said he believes the country has reached a turning point, where survivors aren’t afraid to speak out.
“It certainly feels like a really important moment,” he said. “It feels like a time when survivors are finding their voice and people are sort of — and I include myself in this — really discovering the terrible extent of this problem here in our country.”
“I acted inappropriately towards Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize,” Affleck tweeted at the time.
Although Affleck didn’t go into detail about Rose McGowan, who called him a liar on Twitter after the New York Times revealed she was paid $100,000 to drop sexual harassment claims against Weinstein, he remains supportive.
“I don’t really want to get into other people’s individual stories because I feel like those are their stories and they are entitled to tell as much or as little of those as they want — I believe Rose, I support her, I really like and admire her tenacity and wish her the best,” Affleck said.
Thursday on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the actor said the outpouring of sexual misconduct allegations has been eye-opening.
“I thought I had a sense of the scope of the problem and I thought I understood it and the truth is, I really didn’t,” he said. “I didn’t understand what it’s like to be groped, harassed, to be interrupted, talked over, paid less, pushed around, belittled — all the things that women deal with that for me, as a man, I had the privilege of not having to deal with.
“Part of this, for me, has been listening to people that I care about and love as they tell me stories of stuff that’s happened to them, this is men and women, and realizing this is a real thing. I’m not a spokesperson, I’m not a superhero, I can’t change it by myself. I can just be accountable for myself and for my actions.”