Brie Larson says not clapping for Casey Affleck at the Oscars 'speaks for itself'
When Brie Larson presented Casey Affleck with the best-actor Oscar at the Academy Awards last week, her muted reaction did not go unnoticed, especially on social media. After handing Affleck the award, Larson stepped back and stood with both her arms at her side while the audience gave the actor a standing ovation. Many viewers speculated that Larson—a vocal advocate for sexual-assault survivors—did not clap given Affleck's history: he was sued by two women for sexual harassment allegedly committed during the filming of I'm Still Here. (Both suits were settled in 2010.)
Larson confirmed to Vanity Fair on Wednesday that her reaction was intentional.
"I think that whatever it was that I did onstage kind of spoke for itself," she told us at the Hollywood premiere of her latest movie, Kong: Skull Island, at the Dolby Theatre. "I've said all that I need to say about that topic."
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Larson is familiar with the topic of sexual misconduct. She won the best-actress Oscar last year for portraying a victim of sexual abuse in Room, a disturbing story about a woman who was kidnapped as a teen and gave birth to a son after being raped during her years in captivity. She is using her celebrity platform to raise awareness and provide a voice for sexual-assault survivors. At the 2016 Oscars, just hours before she won her award, she stopped to greet and hug all of the sexual assault survivors who joined Lady Gaga onstage for her performance of the nominated song "Til It Happens to You."
Through her films, too, Larson hopes to bring about political or social change.
"There is a sense of joy and exhaustion that comes with every film, but the hope is that all the exhaustion pays off and you end up getting to share it with the world. That's the reason why I make movies," said Larson, who wore a shiny red Oscar de la Renta dress to the Kong premiere in support of International Women's Day. "You hope that it reverberates outward and that it changes people's opinions and hopefully for the better."
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