Casey Affleck Drops Out of Oscars 2018, Will Not Present Best Actress Award

Casey Affleck has bowed out of his presenter duties at this years Oscars amid a tense moment in Hollywood.

The actor has already notified the Academy that he will not be attending the event, a rep confirmed to Reuters. This is due in large part to ongoing controversy surrounding his own alleged sexual misconduct and the #MeToo movement, according to Deadline.

A source told the site that Affleck did not want to be a distraction at the ceremony, during which he would present the Best Actress award.

Affleck won the award for Best Actor last year for Manchester by the Sea, and Oscars tradition dictates that the previous years Best Actor winner present the Best Actress award to the winner. Roomstar Brie Larson, who won the Best Actress award in 2016, refused to clap for Affleck when she presented him with the trophy last year.

Back in 2010, two women came forward to accuse Affleck of sexual harassment on the set of 2010s Im Still Here, filing civil suits against the actor. Affleck denied the charges and settled the cases out of court.

Afflecks older brother, Ben Affleck, was vocal in speaking out against sexual harassment in Hollywood last fall when Harvey Weinsteins scandal first broke, but Casey has largely been silent about the #MeToo and Times Up movements.

Earlier this week, James Franco, who has also been accused of sexual misconduct by several women, was shut out of the Oscars entirely for his film, The Disaster Artist, which earned Franco a Best Actor award at the Golden Globes.