William H Macy slammed for saying it's 'hard' to be a man in wake of Hollywood sex scandal

The actor said he and some of his peers feel "under attack"
Backlash: Actor William H. Macy
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Emma Powell22 January 2018
The Weekender

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William H Macy has faced a backlash online after claiming its “hard” to be a man in the wake of the Hollywood sex scandal.

Macy, 67, shared his perspective on the #MeToo campaign and Time’s Up movement at the SAG Awards where he picked up the Outstanding Performance by an actor in a Comedy for Shameless.

Macy said he and his peers feel “under attack” and that they should be constantly apologising.

Speaking to reporters backstage he said: “It’s hard to be a man these days.

Speaking out: William H. Macy and his wife Felicity Huffman
Frazer Harrison/Getty

“I think a lot of us feel like we’re under attack, and that we need to apologise, and perhaps we do, and perhaps we are. But we’ll keep talking. To repeat, I’m blessed that I’m in this business.”

The actor praised the Time’s Up movement for rallying against sexual abuse in the work place and said he was “thrilled” to see women on the “ascendant”.

He said: “We had a meeting, a bunch of guys got together, under the auspices of Time’s Up, and that’s good for men.

“Men don’t talk enough. Men don’t talk to other men, and we talked. What the hell – a little bit can’t hurt you.”

He continued: “It’s a good time to be a girl. And I’m proud of this business, because such things as safety in the workplace — I think that’s done. We’re not going back. It’s changed. It changed in an instant, and it’s not going back.

“When it comes to equality and pay, it’s inevitable and it’s going to happen, and it’s going to happen quickly.”

SAG Awards Show and Winners 2018 - In pictures

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But his comments were widely criticised, with many mocking his claim that he feels being a man can be tough.

One Twitter user posted: “Really, try being a woman and being treated like a second class citizen, get paid less and denied access not just on select days, but all your life!”

Another wrote: “Oh f*** off William H. Macy, women have been attacked and assaulted their entire lives. And don't come at me about the rest of the quote, I saw it. Doesn’t make it any less full of b*******.”

A third tweeted: “Awww. Poor William H Macy. It’s so hard to be a man with all the making more money, not being systemically sexually assaulted followed by having it covered up so there’s no consequences. WAH!”

A handful of some of the industry's biggest stars have faced allegations of sexual misconduct including Harvey Weinstein, Dustin Hoffman, James Franco, Kevin Spacey and Aziz Ansari.

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