Ben Affleck is in hot water with a fellow actor over comments that are 20 years old, but trust me, it’s worth it to pay attention to this story. On Twitter, Westworld actor Evan Rachel Wood seemed upset with Affleck’s comments on same-sex kissing and didn’t hold back in firing off her own thoughts on the matter. While his comments (which could possibly have been made in jest at the time) have been on the public record for years, it’s Wood’s renewed focus on them that has been getting attention from fans as well as some approval from said fans as her angry response felt justified.
More: Evan Rachel Wood Just Let a New Westworld Season 2 Hint Slip
In a now-deleted tweet (we managed to find a screen-shotted version for this report), Wood retweeted a Paper magazine article which was promoted with the caption “Ben Affleck says ‘gay kissing is the greatest acting challenge an actor could ever face.'” Along with the retweet, Wood wrote, “Try getting raped in a scene. Also, grow up, Ben.”
https://twitter.com/runwithskizzers/status/887454494505791488
Wood, who has opened up in the past about being a victim of rape, was probably referring to the fact that her Westworld character is a victim of rape in the first season. It should also be noted that Wood is openly and proudly bisexual. She’s been an advocate of the LGBTQ for years and has spoken about her sexuality in the past. These comments made by Affleck would be triggering no matter which way you look at it; for Wood, they imaginably cut especially close to the bone.
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One Twitter user was able to screenshot Affleck’s specific comments from when they were made all those years ago. The film being spoken about is most likely the notoriously queer-baiting Chasing Amy given that Affleck, actor Jason Lee and director Kevin Smith all get mentioned and it was the reason for Affleck’s comments on having to kiss Lee. “Smith recalled that Affleck said ‘a man kissing another man is the greatest acting challenge an actor can ever face.’ Once the scene was filmed, he declared, ‘now I’m a serious actor.'”
https://twitter.com/runwithskizzers/status/887456251151601664
More: Evan Rachel Wood Used Westworld to Make Peace With Her Sexual Assault
The silver lining to this otherwise stomach-churning bit of dredged-up history is that Wood’s Westwood co-star Shannon Woodward commented on her retweet of the Paper article with a shady retort: “It kinda seemed like gigli was challenging? I dunno.” Well said, Woodward.
It’s unclear whether Wood read the Paper article and was basing her comments off that as opposed to the somewhat misleading headline. Either way, it definitely matters that Wood appeared ready to smack down that nonsense readily and that those comments live in the past… permanently.
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