Actress Hilarie Burton, known for her role as Peyton Sawyer in “One Tree Hill,” revived a past sexual assault claim against actor Ben Affleck Tuesday, accusing him of groping her breast during a visit to MTV’s “TRL” in 2003.
Affleck apologized Wednesday via Twitter and wrote, “I acted inappropriately toward Ms. Burton and I sincerely apologize.”
Amid the sexual harassment and assault allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, Affleck took to Twitter Tuesday and wrote he was "saddened and angry" about the allegations against Weinstein.
In response to Affleck's statements, actress Rose McGowan told the New York Times Tuesday night that she had told Affleck that Weinstein behaved inappropriately with her and called him a liar for not acknowledging his own awareness.
Other on Twitter also spoke out against Affleck's statement. One user wrote, "He also grabbed Hilarie Burton's breasts on TRL once. Everyone forgot though."
“I didn’t forget,” Burton, now 35 years old and 10 years younger than Affleck, wrote in response to the tweet.
The fan apologized that she had to go through that, to which Burton said, “Seriously, thank you for that. I was a kid.”
Burton also shared video of her reaction following the grope from “TRL: Uncensored,” in which she laughed it off in discomfort.
In the clip, Burton says Affleck walked over to her during an interview and “tweaked” her breast.
“He wraps his arm around me and comes over and tweaks my left boob!" she says.
She says he later asked her, “What are you, 19?”
“Girls. I'm so impressed with you brave ones. I had to laugh back then so I wouldn't cry. Sending love,” she wrote on Twitter.
According to People, Burton left "TRL" in 2003 to join "One Tree Hill." Her role earned her three Teen Choice Award nominations.
She is currently expecting her second child with “The Walking Dead” actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
About the Author
