Many on social media criticised the 41-year-old’s victory for his role in Manchester By the Sea — or the fact that he was nominated at all — due to sexual harassment claims against Affleck.
Two sexual-harassment lawsuits were filed against Affleck in 2010 by two women who worked with him on the film I’m Still Here. Affleck has denied the allegations, and settled the suits out of court for undisclosed amounts. In the settlement, the actor did not admit any guilt, and he and his accusers are barred from discussing details of the case.
In a new interview with the Boston Globe, Affleck — the younger brother of Ben Affleck — addressed the criticism.
“There’s really nothing I can do about it,” Affleck told the paper. “Other than live my life the way I know I live it and speak to what my own values are and how I try to live by them all the time.”
Following his Best Actor victory, Affleck became one of Twitter’s top trending topics, with many reacting with outrage to his win. The social media hub erupted as he took to the stage, with many calling attention to the harassment allegations. One person tweeted: “just a reminder Casey Affleck has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple women.”
Another Twitter user wrote: “Women get fired for reporting sexual harassment and men win awards for committing it #oscars #CaseyAffleck”
Affleck told the Globe that he is not permitted to speak about the now-settled lawsuits, and said that the people condemning him on social media don’t know the facts of the situation.
“I believe that any kind of mistreatment of anyone for any reason is unacceptable and abhorrent,” he added. “Everyone deserves to be treated with respect in the workplace and anywhere else.”
Affleck spoke graciously about his Oscar to the Globe, in his first interview since Oscar night.
“I’m pretty proud of all the things Ben’s done, and I’m incredibly proud of the fact that the Academy honoured me in this way,” he said.
This article originally appeared on PEOPLE.
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