Ben Affleck has performed tremendously throughout his almost four-decade-old career: both as an actor and as a filmmaker. But he has also managed to get into trouble when his jokes were taken the wrong way or when his comments took a toll on him because he spoke without thinking of the impact his words would have on everyone else.
Something similar happened during an interview with the Justice League cast when Affleck’s inappropriate and problematic joke on s-xual harassment not only landed him in the hot seat but also made his co-stars from the DC film uncomfortable.
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Ben Affleck’s Inappropriate Joke On S-xual Harassment Landed Him In Trouble
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Back in 2017, when the #MeToo movement was at its height of popularity and the industry was still trying its best to expose s-xual predators, Ben Affleck’s poor choice of words for his awkward joke on s-xual harassment landed him in the hot seat.
This happened during a Justice League press junket where Affleck along with Henry Cavill, Jason Momoa, Ezra Miller, Gal Gadot, and Ray Fisher was being interviewed by MTV UK’s Sophie Boyden.
In the clip that went viral on X, the cast was asked about which superhero they would like to bring about in the Justice League sequel if they had the choice. To this, the Batman portrayer said:
“Black Canary. We could use more women.”
Then Fisher chimed in to mention how much he would love to have Zatanna onboard. To this, Affleck made an awkward joke about how it’s probably because of the ‘fishnets’. But it didn’t end there.
When Boyden asked for the cast’s reaction if someone like Supergirl joined their crew, Fisher once again tried to take the lead and explain how having Supergirl in would help them evolve into a ‘different dynamic’. But the Gone Girl actor once again made everyone visibly uncomfortable when he said,
“Are you following the news at all? [Laughs]”
Unfortunately, his talking about Hollywood’s pervasive s-xual harassment problems in such a joking manner was not taken lightly by fans and Ben Affleck got slammed for making the problematic joke.
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Ben Affleck Has Been An Active Speaker Against S-xual Harassment In Hollywood
While Ben Affleck faced incredible backlash over his inappropriate comment on s-xual misconduct in Hollywood, he himself has been accused of having s-xually harassed One Tree Hill star Hilarie Burton by groping her once during an interview years ago.
However, when the 2003 interview resurfaced years later, two months before the Justice League interview the Batman star took to X to apologize to Burton.
Not only this but a month after his apology on X, Affleck had made headlines once again by speaking against Harvey Weinstein after finding out about his s-xual misconduct allegations. During an interview with Fox 5 DC (via IndieWire), he even said:
“Any further residuals that I get from a Miramax or a Weinstein movie will go either to FI or to RAINN,” Affleck said. “I just didn’t want to cash any more checks from the guy, you know?”
During another interview with The Associated Press, the Good Will Hunting actor said:
“[In the wake of the story of s-xual harassment allegations engulfing Hollywood, I’m] looking at my own behavior and addressing that and making sure I’m part of the solution.”
He also mentioned how “more women need to be pushed to power.” Considering all these statements, it is possible that Ben Affleck didn’t mean his words during the Justice League interview the way that they were taken.
