Armie Hammer apologizes for comments about Casey Affleck, sexual assault
Armie Hammer apologized for comparing Casey Affleck's sexual harassment cases with Nate Parker's sexual assault case. (Reuters. )
Armie Hammer apologized on Friday for commenting on Casey Affleck’s sexual harassment cases while attempting to call out Hollywood’s double standard in an interview last month.
During a Hollywood Reporter interview last month, Hammer questioned why Casey Affleck, who faced two sexual harassment cases, won an Oscar for best actor when Nate Parker was placed in “director’s jail” after allegations of sexual assault resurfaced. In a statement released by his PR firm, Hammer said he “misspoke” when comparing the cases.
“I would like to sincerely apologize to Casey and his family for my recent comments about him in my THR interview. Without knowing the facts about the civil lawsuits at issue (which I now understand were settled), I misspoke,” Hammer said in an email statement to Fox News.
Casey Affleck was accused of sexual harassment by two female crewmembers on the set of "I'm Still Here." The cases were settled out of court and dismissed. (Reuters)
“I conflated sexual harassment cases with a criminal case involving sexual assault charges. The cases in which Casey was involved were not criminal and instead involved civil claims from his 2010 movie “I’m Still Here,” the 31-year-old actor said.
Affleck was sued in 2010 for allegedly sexually harassing two female crew members on the set of “I’m Still Here.” The two cases were settled out of court and dismissed, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Hammer said he intended to make a “social comment about double standards in general,” but instead made a poor comparison that he “deeply regrets making.”
“I also didn't mean to insinuate, nor do I believe, that Casey or anyone from his camp had anything to do with leaked information that took place during the press for ‘Birth of a Nation,’” Hammer said.
Hammer added, “I respect Casey’s work, and I’ve learned a valuable lesson about the need to be more accurate with disseminating information, especially in this age of instantaneous, unchecked communication. While attempting to be part of the solution, I unintentionally made myself part of the problem, for which I am truly sorry.”
Hammer said in the initial Hollywood Reporter interview that Parker’s “Birth of a Nation” was up for an Oscar last year before the director’s 1999 rape allegation was brought up. Parker and Jean Celestin, Parker's college roommate from Penn State and the co-writer of “Birth of a Nation,” were accused of raping a student when they attended the university in 1999.
Armie Hammer compared Nate Parker and Casey Affleck in a Hollywood Reporter interview. (Reuters)
Celestin was found guilty of sexual assault, but it was overturned when the student did not testify. She reportedly killed herself in 2012.
Parker was acquitted of the crime, but was later accused of exposing himself to a female student trainer.
Katherine Lam is a breaking and trending news digital producer for Fox News. Follow her on Twitter at @bykatherinelam