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Ben Affleck apologizes for groping teenage actress on TV

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Updated on July 6, 2023

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Ben Affleck has apologized for groping a then 21-year-old actress Hilarie Burton during a live music show.

The former One Tree Hill star chastised Affleck after he issued a statement criticizing producer Harvey Weinstein for alleged sexual harassment and assault on Twitter.

Burton, who appears on Fox’s “Lethal Weapon,” was a co-host of MTV’s “Total Request Live,” a daily music video countdown that lasted for 10 years until 2008 before being relaunched by the network.

The groping claim involving Burton resurfaced when a Twitter user wrote, in response to a tweet about Affleck’s statement: “He also grabbed Hilarie Burton’s breasts on TRL once. Everyone forgot though.”

A video from 2004 has also been unearthed, in which the celebrity asks Canadian journalist Anne-Marie Losique to expose herself while sitting on his lap at a press junket for the Miramax picture Jersey Girl. “These breasts are really firm, suspiciously firm, they are like two giant stones,” he says to her. He also appears to touch her nipple, suggesting they recreate a “Janet Jackson” moment.

“Don’t make me look like I am retarded! I look like I have cerebral palsy” he says later in the video.

In a 2001 interview, Losique stated it had been a habit for her to sit on his lap whenever she talked to him. She told the Los Angeles Times, “It’s something that started a long time ago. Now I’m always on his lap. I don’t have to prepare anything. It’s very easy. But I never get to ask him any questions. Never in five years.”

Affleck’s apology came a day after he posted a statement on Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein’s alleged sexual harassment and assaults.

“I am saddened and angry that a man who I worked with used his position of power to intimidate, sexually harass and manipulate many women over decades,” he said.

“The additional allegations of assault that I read this morning made me sick.

“This is completely unacceptable, and I find myself asking what I can do to make sure this doesn’t happen to others. We need to do better at protecting our sisters, friends, co-workers and daughters.

“We must support those who come forward, condemn this type of behaviour when we see it and help ensure there are more women in positions of power.”

Weinstein refuted any claims of non-consensual s-x in a statement to The New Yorker. “Any allegations of non-consensual s-x are unequivocally denied by Mr. Weinstein. Mr. Weinstein has further confirmed that there were never any acts of retaliation against any women for refusing his advances. Mr. Weinstein obviously can’t speak to anonymous allegations, but with respect to any women who have made allegations on the record, Mr. Weinstein believes that all of these relationships were consensual. Mr. Weinstein has begun counseling, has listened to the community and is pursuing a better path. Mr. Weinstein is hoping that, if he makes enough progress, he will be given a second chance.”

After an explosive New York Times investigation disclosed three decades of sexual assault and harassment charges against the film tycoon, Weinstein was sacked from his independent film firm, the Weinstein Company, last Sunday. Weinstein allegedly assaulted three women, according to a second piece published in the New Yorker on Tuesday.

The mogul’s determination and ruthlessness placed him at the crossroads of Hollywood, Wall Street, and the Beltway, and it’s a breathtaking fall from grace. Weinstein was not just a movie producer, but also a political figure and a prominent influence in New York City’s cultural and business life. The incident is the latest in a long line of performers and moguls who have been brought down by allegations of sexual harassment or misbehavior, from Roger Ailes to Bill O’Reilly to Bill Cosby.