LOS ANGELES: In another apparent consequence of the #MeToo movement, last year’s best actor Oscar winner Casey Affleck will not be presenting at or attending the 90th Academy Awards.
Affleck’s publicist said Thursday that the actor would not be at the ceremony on March 4 where, traditionally, he would have been expected to present the award for best actress as the reigning best actor winner. A film academy spokesperson said they “appreciate the decision to keep the focus on the show and on the great work of this year.”
The “Manchester by the Sea” actor faced sexual harassment allegations in 2010 in two public civil suits during the production of the mockumentary “I’m Still Here.” The suits were settled for undisclosed sums and Affleck has said that the terms of the settlement prevent him from discussing the matter.
While the lawsuits were covered in the press at the time, the allegations gained additional attention in 2016 following the ruination of “Birth of a Nation” director and star Nate Parker’s awards chances after past rape allegations surfaced against him. Many wondered if there was a racially related double standard that would allow Affleck, despite past allegations, to go on to win the best actor award at the Oscars. Actress Brie Larson famously did not clap when presenting Affleck with the award at the 2017 ceremony.
When the Me Too movement exploded in October and the film academy revoked Harvey Weinstein’s membership, the spotlight turned back to Affleck and other academy members who have been accused of misconduct.
John Oliver even took a moment on his HBO show talk about it.
“Yes, finally — the group that counts among its current members Roman Polanski, Bill Cosby and Mel Gibson has found the one guy who treated women badly and kicked him out,” Oliver said in October. “So congratulations, Hollywood. See you at the next Oscars where — and this is true — Casey Affleck will be presenting Best Actress.”
Hardly any aspect of the awards season has been unaffected by the Me Too movement, from who gets nominated to the content of acceptance speeches and red carpet interviews. No one knows exactly how the film academy plans to handle this moment of reckoning during the ceremony on March 4, but, with Affleck stepping down, one of the biggest questions has been answered.
Casey Affleck to skip Academy Awards in wake of #MeToo movement
Casey Affleck to skip Academy Awards in wake of #MeToo movement
Fans bid farewell to Japan’s only pandas
TOKYO: Panda lovers in Tokyo said goodbye on Sunday to a hugely popular pair of the bears that are set to return to China, leaving Japan without the beloved animals for the first time in half a century.
Loaned out as part of China’s “panda diplomacy” program, the distinctive black-and-white animals have symbolized friendship between Beijing and Tokyo since the normalization of diplomatic ties in 1972.
Some visitors at Ueno Zoological Gardens were left teary-eyed as they watched Japan’s only two pandas Lei Lei and Xiao Xiao munch on bamboo.
The animals are expected to leave for China on Tuesday following a souring of relations between Asia’s two largest economies.
“I feel like seeing pandas can help create a connection with China too, so in that sense I really would like pandas to come back to Japan again,” said Gen Takahashi, 39, a Tokyo resident who visited the zoo with his wife and their two-year-old daughter.
“Kids love pandas as well, so if we could see them with our own eyes in Japan, I’d definitely want to go.”
The pandas’ abrupt return was announced last month after Japan’s conservative premier Sanae Takaichi hinted Tokyo could intervene militarily in the event of any attack on Taiwan.
Her comment provoked the ire of Beijing, which regards the island as its own territory.
The 4,400 lucky winners of an online lottery took turns viewing the four-year-old twins at Ueno zoo while others gathered nearby, many sporting panda-themed shirts, bags and dolls to celebrate the moment.
Mayuko Sumida traveled several hours from the central Aichi region in the hope of seeing them despite not winning the lottery.
“Even though it’s so big, its movements are really funny-sometimes it even acts kind of like a person,” she said, adding that she was “totally hooked.”
“Japan’s going to be left with zero pandas. It feels kind of sad,” she said.
Their departure might not be politically motivated, but if pandas return to Japan in the future it would symbolize warming relations, said Masaki Ienaga, a professor at Tokyo Woman’s Christian University and expert in East Asian international relations.
“In the future...if there are intentions of improving bilateral ties on both sides, it’s possible that (the return of) pandas will be on the table,” he told AFP.
