Brie Larson defends her reaction to Casey Affleck’s Oscar win

ForeignEditorial

The actress didn’t clap after presenting him the award for Best Actor.

Harper’s Bazaar

Recently at the Oscars, Brie Larson presented the award for Best Actor to Casey Affleck. The actress looked uncomfortable the moment she read his name from the winning card, and after handing him the trophy, stood off to the side and did not clap.

Larson’s reaction was viewed as a silent protest. Affleck, who won for his role in Manchester by the Sea, was hit with two lawsuits in 2010—he was accused of sexually harassing two women who worked on his film, I’m Still Here. (He denies the allegations and both cases were settled out of court for undisclosed amounts.) With this info in mind, people were in an uproar on social media throughout awards season as the actor’s nominations, and ultimately, his victories, were announced.

Larson’s lack of reaction on the Oscars’ stage made the public—and social media—take notice.

Larson confirmed to Vanity Fair that her reaction was intentional. “I think that whatever it was that I did onstage kind of spoke for itself,” Larson told the magazine. “I’ve said all that I need to say about that topic.”

The actress portrayed a sexual assault survivor in Room—a performance that earned her the Oscar for Best Actress in 2016—and has worked with victims of abuse. At the 2016 Academy Awards, she hugged every rape survivor that joined in Lady Gaga’s performance of “Til It Happens To You.” (The song was from The Hunting Ground, a documentary about rape crimes on college campuses.)

Larson also opened up in the latest issue of The Edit. In the cover story, the actress interviews Jane Fonda, who reveals she was raped and sexually abused during childhood. Larson responded:

“Having played two characters who were sexually abused, I’ve done a lot of work with victims of sexual abuse. We can’t take any steps backward in allowing people to think abuse is their fault. It’s the people-pleaser disease.”