Armie Hammer calls out Oscars for Casey Affleck's win despite sexual assault allegations
Armie Hammer believes there's a double standard at play when it comes to how Hollywood deals with its alleged abusers.
The Call Me by Your Name star covers the latest issue of The Hollywood Reporter, where he candidly opens up about what he sees as a disparity in how the Academy treated Nate Parker, whose Oscar campaign for 2016's Birth of a Nation went south when a past rape case surfaced, and Casey Affleck, who was awarded Best Actor for Manchester by the Sea at the 2017 Academy Awards, despite several allegations of sexual assault in his past.
“Nate had the stuff in his past, which is heinous and tough to get beyond. I get that,” the 31-year-old actor concedes. “But that was when he was 18 and now he’s in director jail."
"At the same time, the guy who went and won an Academy Award has three cases of sexual assault against him," Hammer claimed, confirming that the actor he was speaking of was Affleck.
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"[Parker] had one incident — which was heinous and atrocious — but his entire life is affected in the worst possible way," Hammer adds. "And the other guy won the highest award you can get as an actor. It just doesn’t make sense, you know?”
“Look,” he says. “I’m not saying Nate should not have been in trouble. I’m saying that they got in different levels of trouble. And that’s the disparity. It’s like there are two standards for how to deal with someone who has this kind of issue in their past, you know?”
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MORE: Casey Affleck Breaks Silence on Sexual Harassment Allegations
The allegations against Affleck stem from 2010 lawsuits filed by two women who worked with him on his controversial film starring Joaquin Phoenix, I'm Still Here. He has denied the claims, and the suits were settled out of court.
"I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent, and everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else," Affleck told the Boston Globe shortly after his Oscar win. "There's really nothing I can do about it. Other than live my life the way I know I live it, and to speak to what my own values are, and how I try to live by them all the time."
In Parker's case, the director and his friend were arrested on allegations of raping a woman while she was intoxicated and unconscious in 1999. The alleged victim later committed suicide in 2012. Parker was acquitted of the charges in 2001 -- though his friend was convicted -- and has always maintained his innocence, telling Anderson Cooper during a 60 Minutes interview in October 2016 that the news of his accuser's suicide was "devastating," though he did not feel guilty.
“I was falsely accused. I went to court. I sat in trial. I was vindicated — I was proven innocent. I was vindicated," he said. "And I feel terrible that this woman isn’t here. I feel terrible that her family had to deal with that. But as I sit here, an apology is, no.”
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Hammer's comments about Hollywood's apparent double standard comes at a time when the industry finds itself at a turning point, with women and men coming forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against the likes of Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K. and more.
Ben Affleck, who came under fire for condemning Weinstein's alleged misconduct, while remaining silent on allegations against his brother, recently apologized to former TRL host Hilarie Burton, who accused him of groping her during a past appearance on the show. Last week, Affleck was a guest on the Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where he candidly addressed the groping claims, as well as the need for him, and all men, to be more "mindful" of their conduct.
“I was accused of by a woman, touching her breasts while I gave her a hug,” Affleck said of the alleged incident. “I don’t remember it, but I absolutely apologize for it. I certainly don’t think she’s lying or making it up.”
“If I was ever part of the problem, I want to change and be part of the solution," the 45-year-old actor added.
