Evan Rachel Wood blasts Ben Affleck over gay kiss ‘greatest challenge’ comment
By Will Stroude
Evan Rachel Wood has blasted Ben Affleck on social media over comments he allegedly made about gay kissing in 1997.
The True Blood actress, who identifies as bisexual, took to Twitter on Tuesday (July 18) to tell Affleck to “grow up” after the director of US romantic drama Chasing Amy claimed the Hollywood actor once described kissing another man as “the greatest challenge an actor can ever face”.
Filmmaker Kevin Smith revealed at Outfest on Saturday (July 15) that Affleck had been apprehensive about a scene in the film which saw him briefly lock lips with actor Jason Lee.
According to Smith, a then-23-year-old Affleck told him that “a man kissing another man is the greatest acting challenge an actor can ever face”, adding after the scene had been filmed: “Now, I’m a serious actor.”
Westworld star Wood, who came out publicly as bisexual in 2011, responded to a report on the story on Tuesday with some damning advice for the A-list heartthrob, tweeting: “Try getting raped in a scene.”
The 29-year-old added: “Also, grow up Ben.”
Continuing to level criticism at the 44-year-old Gone Girl star, Wood wrote in a separate tweet: “Also, you think us ladies like kissing all the guys we kiss? Just cause its a ‘straight kiss’ doesn’t mean we enjoy it. Ahem.”
After one of Wood’s followers defended Affleck, pointing out that he made the comments two decades ago, the actress replied: “I’m sure he thought it was a funny [sic], but even jokes like that are damaging.”
Wood later deleted the tweets on Wednesday morning (July 19), saying she’d been inundated with hatred from Twitter users.
“I have deleted the thread because of the sickening things people have written in response,” she wrote. “I dont want to give that kind of hatred a place.”
I have deleted the thread because of the sickening things people have written in response. I dont want to give that kind of hatred a place.
— #EvanRachelWould (@evanrachelwood) July 19, 2017
Affleck – who is yet to respond publicly to Smith or Wood’s comments – previously spoke of his unease at his gay kiss scene in Chasing Amy’s shortly after the film’s release in 1997.
Speaking to Entertainment Tonight at the time, the star – who publicly expressed his support for marriage equality on Twitter in 2014 – insisted: “I’m not homophobic”, before adding: “I guess I am, more than I thought, in that, you know, it was just difficult for me, and I didn’t think it would be.”
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