Ben Affleck visited The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to promote his new film Justice League. But instead he found himself promoting women’s rights and gender equality in the wake of recent sexual misconduct scandals.
Affleck appeared to be caught off-guard by Colbert when asked about Harvey Weinstein. Affleck asked, “This is a comedy show, correct?” Colbert replied, “This is a comedy show right now but we also talk about subject of moment.”
Affleck spent the next few minutes championing victims and women’s rights. He said, “I thought I had a sense of the scope of the problem. I thought I understood it. The truth is I really didn’t. I didn’t understand what it is like to be groped, to be harassed, to be interrupted, talked over, paid less, you know, pushed around, belittled all the things that women deal with that for me as a man I had the privilege of not having to deal with.”
Affleck, who has been accused of sexual misconduct himself, called for more accountability by men. He said, “This is just the kind of thing that we have to, as men, I think, in this, as we become more aware of this, be really, really mindful of our behavior and hold ourselves accountable and say if I was ever part of the problem, I want to change. I want to be part of the solution.”
Ultimately, Affleck felt the most important thing was to create a culture where women feel safe. He said, “I think the most important thing to do is to supported the voices that are coming forward. Believe them and create a business where more women are empowered and in place so that less of this happens and so that there is a way of reporting this stuff that people can feel safe doing, you know.”
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11:35 on CBS.
Watch as Colbert parodies Keith Urban’s song, “Female”:
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