Ben Affleck sexually assaulted TRL host in 2003: report

[Mark Trail]

I had to laugh so I wouldn't cry': Hilarie Burton claims Weinstein protegé Ben Affleck groped her breast on TRL in 2003 'when she was just a kid': The former host of the show made the allegations on Tuesday night, just hours after Affleck made a statement condemning Harvey Weinstein's alleged abusive actions in his sexual assault and harassment scandal.

Ben Affleck apologizes for groping actress Hilarie Burton: "I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize," Affleck tweeted Wednesday.

It's not groping or fondling – it is sexual assault: Numerous high-profile cases of sexual violence and abuse have have been exposed in recent years, with the same words cropping up again and again: “groping”, “fondling”, “inappropriate touching”. What each of these terms usually means is sexual assault. But both in casual conversation and in the press, we will go to almost any lengths to avoid saying it.

About a month away from "Justice League" and this surfaces. DC/WB executives can't be happy.

[Qwerty]

I had to laugh so I wouldn't cry': Hilarie Burton claims Weinstein protegé Ben Affleck groped her breast on TRL in 2003 'when she was just a kid': The former host of the show made the allegations on Tuesday night, just hours after Affleck made a statement condemning Harvey Weinstein's alleged abusive actions in his sexual assault and harassment scandal.

Ben Affleck apologizes for groping actress Hilarie Burton: "I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize," Affleck tweeted Wednesday.

It's not groping or fondling – it is sexual assault: Numerous high-profile cases of sexual violence and abuse have have been exposed in recent years, with the same words cropping up again and again: “groping”, “fondling”, “inappropriate touching”. What each of these terms usually means is sexual assault. But both in casual conversation and in the press, we will go to almost any lengths to avoid saying it.

About a month away from "Justice League" and this surfaces. DC/WB executives can't be happy.

To make things even more awkward for Ben. Burton's Husband/partner/father of her kid/s is none other than Thomas Wayne him self Jeffrey Dean Morgan

[Cyke]

To make things even more awkward for Ben. Burton's Husband/partner/father of her kid/s is none other than Thomas Wayne him self Jeffrey Dean Morgan

Ooooh ****. Lucille's gonna eat well tonight.

[Hiromi]

I expect a lot of stories of this kind will be coming to light soon, with Weinstein's fall emboldening people to come forward

[Starter Set]

"when she was just a kid"? Well, ok, in the states majority is 21 but still, the way they put it you would think the girl was 12 lol.

Anyway, of course it's no way to behave, no need to fall on me with sharp axes and to cut me to pieces, i completely agree.

[Elmo]

This is a massive overreaction. The video that literally shows the incident in question is extremely mild; in fact in the video Affleck doesn't even do what she describes. This is outrage culture in its purest; for no reason than to make headlines. I myself am a feminist and fully supportive of women's rights--rape culture is rampant in Hollywood and something must be done. However this is absolutely ridiculous.

[Mark Trail]

in the video Affleck doesn't even do what she describes...this is absolutely ridiculous.

If he didn't do it, why did he apologize for it?

[Vakanai]

Ugh. Won't stop me from seeing Affleck's movies, especially the Batman stuff, but still, eek.

[XPac]

If he didn't do it, why did he apologize for it?

Even if he didn't do anything inappropriate (and I'm not saying that's the case), apologizing probably isn't a bad idea.

[bobellis75]

Look I will in no way defend anyone who is sexually assaulting a woman - I have a daughter and sisters so...no way - not even close to okay.

That said - seeing footage of the Affleck thing - I'm not even sure what he did exactly. You're on MTV at what looks like a pool party or something and probably having some drinks, etc. (Not that that makes it okay...but MTV at that time was all about raunchy crap going down). He put his arm around her for all of 10 seconds. If he grabbed her somewhere, it was hard to tell. Not cool if he did, and he should be called out if so.

I will not defend the guy - if he says he's sorry, he must have done something, right? Pinched her rear or something...I dunno. I'd think this is probably some flirtation gone awry rather than "Ben Affleck is a serial molestor."

But I don't know - maybe he's a scumbag. I hope not - I've always liked the guy. So far the only good story I've heard about a male involved in all this is Brad Pitt going to Harvey and threatening him with a beatdown if he ever propositioned Paltrow again.

[Elmo]

If he didn't do it, why did he apologize for it?

Because he DID grab her and wrap his arms around her. It is inappropriate and it's better to face your actions than to hide from them, no matter how minor they are. He did not grab and squeeze her breast. He simply hugged her; and it may not have been welcomed, so it's good on him to apologize.

[XPac]

Because he DID grab her and wrap his arms around her. It is inappropriate and it's better to face your actions than to hide from them, no matter how minor they are. He did not grab and squeeze her breast. He simply hugged her; and it may not have been welcomed, so it's good on him to apologize.

From the camera angle I saw though, I'm not entirely certain if he did more than just put her arm around her. You can't really see what's going on with that other arm. Maybe there's a better video out there than the one I saw, but it seemed pretty inconclusive.

[Jim Kelly]

It's not groping or fondling – it is sexual assault: Numerous high-profile cases of sexual violence and abuse have have been exposed in recent years, with the same words cropping up again and again: “groping”, “fondling”, “inappropriate touching”. What each of these terms usually means is sexual assault. But both in casual conversation and in the press, we will go to almost any lengths to avoid saying it.

I have a problem with this semantics game--and I'm on the side of the people who have these things done to them. If you attach one umbrella term to a whole host of crimes and misdemeanours, your intention might be to win prosecutions but the effect will likely be the opposite.

If every incident is put on the same level, it muddies the waters and it's easier for attackers to escape punishment because the language in the law is so inexact. If you don't think words like "grope" or "fondle" have enough of a yuck factor, then come up with better words from the English dictionary (English is resourceful for capturing every nuance of action, if only people would use it instead of falling back on the same worn-out words and phrases).

The more that one term like "sexual assault" is used for every action under the sun, the less impact it has and the less meaning it contains.

[Jokerz79]

There is film he grabbed her he has apologized yet it's still being debated how bad and treated like we need a Zapruder film to judge how bad it was. Well when does it become bad? When are you allowed to touch someone unwantedly? How far are you allow to go? This is why Weinstein got away with it for so long same for Cosby, Andy Signore and all the countless rest who have because we always end up judging and questioning the victims more than the perpetrators.

[Cyke]

This is a massive overreaction. The video that literally shows the incident in question is extremely mild; in fact in the video Affleck doesn't even do what she describes. This is outrage culture in its purest; for no reason than to make headlines. I myself am a feminist and fully supportive of women's rights--rape culture is rampant in Hollywood and something must be done. However this is absolutely ridiculous.

Part of being supportive of women's rights and fighting to dismantle rape culture is to not marginalize or minimize the harm done to the victim, though. And, given how Rose McGowan had gone to Affleck years ago for help regarding Weinstein, only for Affleck to tell McGowan to do a press conference so soon after the assault -- and then in the present feign ignorance about Weinstein's behavior, it shows a deeply ingrained pattern on Affleck's part to excuse or sweep away assault.

Terry Crews was sexually assaulted recently (in front of his wife, even) by a separate Hollywood producer, his genitals felt up in a similar way as the video. When Crews stopped him, the producer simply just shrugged it off and treated it like it was no big deal. Crews is one of the biggest, toughest dudes in Hollywood, and he could only muster up the courage to come forward only after all these other reports about Weinstein came out. So, 1. If it was this hard for him to do, imagining the struggle for an actor of even less pull and with much more career vulnerability would be far more difficult, 2. it shows how quickly people are willing to downplay assault rather than really examining it, and thus making the victims feel like they're blowing things out of proportion (which they're not), and 3. it shows how rampant rape culture is in Hollywood.

Whether you think it's outrage culture or not, she still deserves to be heard about this. People trying minimize it or disbelieving it or even trivializing it is a very real, very tangible fear for many victims of assault, male and female alike.