Oscars: Casey Affleck Won't Present Best Actress Award

Affleck won the best actor Oscar last year for his role in 'Manchester by the Sea.'

Casey Affleck has withdrawn from this year's Oscars ceremony, where, if the Academy chose to follow tradition, he would have presented the best actress award.

Affleck won his best actor Oscar in 2017 for his role in Manchester by the Sea. Oscars tradition dictates that the previous year's best actor winner presents the Oscar to the following year's best actress recipient. But that tradition isn't ironclad. At the 81st Oscars, for example, each of the acting awards was presented by a quintet of past Oscar winners, and Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd, who are producing this year's show, have been considering departing from tradition when it comes to presenting the acting awards.

If Affleck were to participate in this year's ceremony, his presence could be problematic. During last year's awards season, accusations of inappropriate behavior on his part on the set of 2010's I'm Still Here resurfaced. That year, two women working on the film filed civil suits against Affleck accusing him of sexual harassment. The actor denied the charges, and the suits were settled out of court and dismissed.

But amid the current #MeToo movement, some had already begun to criticize the possibility that Affleck could participate in this year's Oscar show.

In response to Affleck's withdrawal, an Academy spokesperson issued a statement, saying, "We appreciate the decision to keep the focus on the show and the great work of this year."