INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

Casey Affleck’s PETA PSA Three Days Before Oscars Win

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 21:27 PST, Mar 6, 2017

Casey Affleck hates circuses, according to People magazine. The Oscar-winning Manchester By the Sea actor has slammed circuses in a PSA video.

There’s probably only one thing that Casey Affleck hates more than circuses: the sexual harassment controversy that could have prevented him from getting an Oscar for Best Actor at the Academy Awards on February 26.

In partnership with People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Casey Affleck created a PSA video, in which he revealed why families might want to stop taking their kids to circuses, mainly Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.

In the video, Casey Affleck explains how much the animals in circuses are suffering and said that big cats are forced to give shows and constantly travel while living in tiny cages with no enrichment.

“I choose to work in the entertainment industry, but animals in circuses and other traveling shows are never given a choice.”

Casey Affleck further noted that circuses turned the animals’ lives into ones of “torment and deprivation.” The Oscar-winning actor says trainers beat tigers “mercilessly” with sticks, poles, and whips and “bully them into jumping through hoops” just to put on a show.

By purchasing circus tickets and going to circuses, people are basically sponsoring animal cruelty around the world.

While many interpreted Casey Affleck’s anti-circuses video as his desperate attempt to recover the reputation before the Oscars 2017 – the PSA video was released three days prior to the awards ceremony – this isn’t the first time the actor has teamed up with PETA.

Earlier this year, Casey Affleck and PETA recorded a video together explaining why dog owners should be keeping their dogs indoors during extremely cold winter months.

While many film enthusiasts are discussing Casey Affleck’s marred reputation following two controversial sexual harassment lawsuits against him, not many of them actually know the details about those sexual harassment claims.

Casey Affleck’s controversial past may be plaguing his reputation, but the actor had already won two major awards for his performance in Manchester by the Sea, including a Golden Globe and a BAFTA, prior to winning his Best Actor Oscar, out of more than a dozen awards for the role in the 2016 film, according to Us Weekly.

While Casey Affleck was the front-runner in the Oscars race for Best Actor for months and went on to win the coveted award, many activists are angry that the actor has managed to win over the hearts of Hollywood despite the sexual harassment allegations. However, not many of those critics are aware that these two sexual harassment lawsuits against Casey Affleck have long been settled.

Two women who worked with Casey Affleck on his indie film I’m Still Here in 2009 alleged that the actor sexually harassed them. One of the women alleged that the younger brother of Ben Affleck snuck into her bed while she was asleep.

The other women, meanwhile, alleged that Casey Affleck “intimidated her into staying” in his hotel room and “violently grabbed” her by the arm when she refused, according to Us Weekly citing the complaint.

However, Casey Affleck settled the two lawsuits back in 2010, for $2 million and for $2.25 million respectively. In 2010, the Manchester by the Sea actor slammed the allegations and called them “extortion.”

But there are still those who cannot believe Casey Affleck was the front-runner during the awards circuit and the eventual winner of Best Actor, despite his dark past. Fresh Off the Boat star Constance Wu, who has been a vocal critic of Affleck, slammed the actor for buying his way “out of trouble by settling out of court.”

Wu explained that she is a woman and human first, which is why she felt the need to speak out about Casey Affleck’s dark past.

“That’s what my craft is built on.”

[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]

Share this article: Casey Affleck’s PETA PSA Three Days Before Oscars Win
More from Inquisitr