Actor Ben Affleck has been regularly making headlines recently — whether for his high-profile on-again relationship with Jennifer Lopez or being papped on cute outings with his kids. While attending the 2021 Venice Film Festival over the past few days, the Good Will Hunting actor attracted media focus yet again, this time by declaring himself as a feminist.
The star is at the festival to promote his upcoming movie, The Last Duel, in which he stars alongside long-term friend Matt Damon.
Speaking to The Daily Beast at a press conference for the much-anticipated new release, Affleck said, "I do consider myself a feminist. And this movie principally was really exciting to me because of the character of Marguerite, her extraordinary strength and bravery seemed very obvious when I read the book."
Movie actor Jodie Comer also chimed in on Affleck's comments, adding that she considered it important "to make sure this woman was fully fleshed out, and she had this experience but wasn't defined by it." The Last Duel is the latest historical drama from acclaimed director Ridley Scott. Scott's screenplay is based on the novel by Eric Jagger, which in turn takes its inspiration from real-life events.
The plot follows Comer's character, Marguerite de Thibouville, a woman living in 14th-century France who accuses the husband of her best friend of sexual assault. Its star-studded cast also features Adam Driver, of Star Wars fame.
Affleck's claim to be a feminist has been met with a slight side-eying from fans, however, due to the actor's not entirely squeaky clean past. In 2017, he responded to claims of inappropriate groping made by One Tree Hill actress Hilarie Burton by tweeting, "I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize." He went on to admit his previously limited understanding of sexual misconduct in a 2017 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in which he said, "I thought I had a sense of the scope of the problem, and I thought I understood it and the truth is I really didn't. I didn't understand what it was like to be groped, to be harassed."
Affleck also publicly denounced Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced former producer with whom he had previously worked multiple times when accusations emerged against Weinstein in 2017. Although he consequently faced criticism from Rose McGowan for not calling out Weinstein's behavior earlier, the actor has since voiced his commitment to "be part of the solution" in battling sexual misconduct in Hollywood.