Casey Affleck withdraws from presenting at Oscars

Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Actor Casey Affleck has withdrawn from consideration to present at this year's Academy Awards ceremony.

Affleck notified the Academy Thursday he won't be attending the ceremony to present the Oscar for Best Actress, saying he didn't want to distract from the performances of the actresses in the category, Deadline Hollywood reported.

The 42-year-old actor won the Best Actor Oscar in 2017 for his performance in Manchester By the Sea.

Oscar tradition dictates that the Best Actor winner from the previous year's ceremony presents the Best Actress trophy while the Best Actress winner presents Best Actor.

Affleck was sued by two women for allegedly sexually harassing them on the set of I'm Still Here in 2010. He denied the charges, and the suits were later settled out of court and dismissed.

Some had begun to criticize the possibility of Affleck presenting the award amid the #MeToo movement in Hollywood, featuring victims of sexual abuse speaking out against their harassers.

A representative for the Academy issued a statement commending Affleck's decision to withdraw from the show.

"We appreciate the decision to keep the focus on the show and the great work of this year," the representative said.