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Bombshell lawsuit alleges sexual harassment by Casey Affleck

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afflecks.jpg

                           Casey Affleck, his wife Summer Phoenix, and brother Ben


 

UPDATED:

Sued by a female producer for allegedly making ‘‘unwanted sexual advances,’’ Casey Affleck has hired an LA attorney with lots of experience defending actors accused of sexual harassment. Marty Singer, whose clients have included Steven Seagal and ‘‘Bones’’ star David Boreanaz, claims in court documents filed in LA that the producer, Amanda White, is resorting to claims of sexual harassment because previous ‘‘extortionate tactics’’ to get money from Affleck failed. In addition, Singer says White, who worked with Affleck on documentary ‘‘I’m Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix,’’ had signed an agreement with Affleck stipulating that ‘‘all disputes that may arise between the parties...will be determined solely by arbitration.’’ The 25-page filing also includes a statement from Affleck, brother of Ben Affleck, claiming that White never mentioned anything about harassment until now, 15 months after she quit working on the project. ‘‘(The) claims are completely fabricated,’’ he says. ‘‘(She) repeatedly expressed to me that she was very happy to be part of the project.’’ In her $2 million lawsuit, filed last week, White alleges that Affleck, whose acting credits include ‘‘Gone Baby Gone’’ and ‘‘The Killer Inside Me,’’ denied her producing fee after she refused to spend the night with him in a hotel room. She also claims that she was forced to endure debauched behavior during production of the documentary about Phoenix. Casey Affleck, 34, is married to Summer Phoenix, with whom he has two sons.
 

Actor Casey Affleck, brother of Ben and star of "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Killer Inside Me," is being sued for sexual harrassment by a producer of Affleck's upcoming documentary about Joaquin Phoenix. According to the $2 million lawsuit, which was first reported by the Hollywood Reporter, Affleck subjected the woman, Amanda White, to lurid sexual harassment and denied her producing fee after she refused to spend the night with him in a hotel room. In the suit filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court, White alleges that she was forced to endure debauched behavior during production of "I'm Still Here: The Lost Year of Joaquin Phoenix," including "uninvited and unwelcome sexual advances in the workplace" and an impromptu shoot in a Las Vegas hotel room filled with hookers and transvestites. White, who also worked on "Good Will Hunting" with Ben and Casey Affleck, and later collaborated with producer Chris Moore on other projects, says she agreed to a $50,000 fee to help produce the documentary about Phoenix's attempts to reinvent himself as a rap artist. "On one occasion, Affleck instructed a crew member to take off his pants in order to show (White) his penis, even after (White) objected," the complaint alleges. "Affleck repeatedly referred to women as 'cows'; he discussed his sexual exploits and those of other celebrities that he allegedly witnessed; and asked (White), after learning her age, 'Isn't it about time you get pregnant?'" The complaint goes on to say that White was prevented from going to her bedroom during a shoot in Costa Rica because "Affleck and Phoenix locked themselves in her bedroom with two women." According to the lawsuit, "Affleck also attempted to manipulate (White) into staying in a hotel room with him, and when she resisted, he grabbed her in a hostile manner in an effort to intimidate her into complying." A rep for Affleck, who's married to Summer Phoenix, with whom he has two children, declined to comment on the lawsuit. Neither Phoenix nor Magnolia Pictures, which will distribute the film, is named as a defendant in the suit. Here's Ben and Casey talking about "Gone Baby Gone."

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This blog features the latest local and national celebrity news from The Boston Globe's Names column team. Check back for the latest updates.
Mark Shanahan joined The Boston Globe in 2003, having worked previously at the Portland Press Herald, where he covered City Hall, and the Lewiston Sun-Journal, where he was the education reporter. A Northampton native and graduate of Bates College, Shanahan enjoys the usual - books, music, movies, etc. - as well as the unusual.
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Meredith Goldstein has worked for the Globe since 2003, covering everything from nightlife to New Kids. She keeps her eyes peeled for celebrity juice, and also writes Love Letters, a Boston.com blog for hopeful (and hopeless) romantics. Meredith chats about love problems every Wednesday at 1 p.m. If you see Justin Timberlake or someone like him at a local eatery, please e-mail her immediately. mgoldstein@globe.com
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