Petition launched for Casey Affleck to be banned from next year's Oscars

Amidst a wave of sexual harassment allegations circling Hollywood's power players, a petition has been launched to ban actor Casey Affleck from presenting at next year's Academy Awards.

Actors who win Oscars are traditionally invited back the following year to announce the winner of their opposite-gender successor, meaning Affleck, who won the Best Actor prize at this year's ceremony for Manchester by the Sea, is likely to announce the winner of next year's Best Actress prize.

But a petition hosted at Change.org directed at the Academy and its new president, John Bailey, is asking that Affleck be banned from the ceremony in light of sexual harassment accusations previously levelled at the star.

"In light of the revelations that Harvey Weinstein has been sexually harassing and assaulting women for decades, the Academy Awards recently voted to strip Weinstein of his membership," the petition reads, "but did you know that another accused sexual harasser is set to participate in the 2018 ceremony?"

The petition then goes on to recount the sexual harassment allegations made against Affleck in 2010, in which a producer and a cinematographer on the set of Affleck's documentary I'm Still Here filed separate lawsuits accusing the star of harassment.

One of the women alleged that Affleck had snuck into her bed while she was sleeping and had starting caressing her back. Another alleged that Affleck had encouraged a male member of the production crew to show her his penis, and that Affleck had asked her to stay in his hotel room and "grabbed her" when she refused.

Affleck denied the allegations, and both cases were settled out of court. During Affleck's Oscar campaign last year, his spokesperson said: "The disputes have been resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties and the lawsuits are being dismissed."

"According to tradition, [Affleck] will present the Best Actress award this year," the petition continues. "With these credible accusations against him, the Academy should take action and rescind the privilege this year."

After receiving over 19,000 signatures, the petition led to the Academy Awards CEO Dawn Hudson revealing during a a pre-Oscars event that the Academy was "giving thought" to the suggestion.

Affleck's continued awards successes last year proved controversial, with actress Brie Larson, who won an Oscar the previous year for her role as a sexual abuse survivor in Room, forced to present Affleck with numerous Best Actor awards over the course of the 2017 awards season.

She refused to clap for or engage with Affleck during televised ceremonies, and told Vanity Fair that "I think that whatever it was that I did on stage kind of spoke for itself. I've said all that I need to say about that topic."