The Hollywood actor is facing legal action from producer Amanda White and cinematographer Magdalena Gorka, who have filed separate suits alleging Affleck behaved badly while they were making his I’m Still Here documentary about Joaquin Phoenix.
Affleck’s lawyer Marty Singer has branded both lawsuits “total fiction” and will file papers in court on Wednesday (04Aug10) claiming both women breached contracts by alerting the media to their complaints.
He tells the New York Post, “Their lawyer sent the media both lawsuits before he filed them with the court in order to get publicity. Both claims are total fiction.”
Meanwhile, associate producer Nicole Acacio, who also worked on the Pheonix film, has defended Affleck – insisting she never witnessed him act inappropriately to any of the women on set.
She says, “Casey’s wife and his children were in town with him. Casey is a great guy, and it’s clear that he’s a very warm, family-centric person. The real Casey isn’t the one who was described in these suits. Nothing I’ve ever witnessed would lead me to think he could ever do anything like that.”
An unnamed female editor on the documentary adds, “These lawsuits are contrary to everything that I personally know about Casey.”
A lawyer for both Gorka and White, Brian Procel, says, “This is clearly an intimidation tactic by Casey Affleck’s team. They want to keep the truth from the public. We do not consider this as a serious challenge and we will fight it.”
