Summary
- Matt Damon faced backlash from the LBGTQ+ community after comments about his friendship with Ben Affleck, expressing concern about speculation and offensive implications.
- Damon was involved in a public clash on Project Greenlight, interrupting journalist Effie Brown and causing the hashtag #damonsplaining to trend on Twitter.
- Matt Damon defended himself on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, blaming internet journalists and clarifying that he believes actors are more effective when they maintain a sense of mystery.
Matt Damon got himself in trouble with the LBGTQ+ community when he made comments about his friendship with Ben Affleck. The Martian actor was discussing the nature of his relationship with Ben Affleck and admitted the rumors they were romantically linked "put us in a weird position of having to answer; you know what I mean?”
The successful Hollywood actor admitted he was concerned that people questioning his sexuality would compromise his future career in the industry. Matt Damon added that the speculation about him and Ben Affleck, “was then really deeply offensive. I don’t want to, like [imply] it’s some sort of disease – then it’s like I’m throwing my friends under the bus.”
These comments came shortly after Damon had a public clash with journalist Effie Brown on HBOs Project Greenlight. He interrupted the black film producer to say, "When you’re talking about diversity, you do it in the casting of the film, not the casting of the show."
Effie looked shocked and disappointed with the Air actor's interruption. The hashtag #damonsplaining started trending on Twitter shortly after the actor’s controversial comments were aired. Damon was quick to defend himself, “I am sorry that they offended some people, but, at the very least, I am happy that they started a conversation about diversity in Hollywood.”
Matt Damon Once Hired Fake Friends After He Became Famous Overnight
After the success of 'Good Will Hunting' Matt Damon's life became surreal. So surreal, that it was necessary to hire fake friends for the actor.
Did Matt Damon Encourage Actors To Be In The Closet?
The Bourne Identity star was forced to address statements in 2015 after he was accused of downplaying the importance of diversity in Hollywood and encouraging actors to hide their sexuality.
Matt Damon made comments about the openly gay British actor, Ruper Everett. He admits that Everett is "more handsome than anybody, a classically trained actor – it’s tough to make the argument that he didn’t take a hit for being out.”
The Oscar-winner also admitted he thinks it's more difficult for gay actors once they come out in Hollywood. "But in terms of actors, I think you're a better actor the less people know about you period. And sexuality is a huge part of that."
Whether you're straight or gay, people shouldn't know anything about your sexuality because that's one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.
Matt Damon Defends Comments About Gay Actors After Backlash
Matt Damon later appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show following criticism he told gay actors to remain in the closet for the benefit of their careers. Damon told the openly gay host that he had not intended to sound homophobic and blamed internet journalists for running with the story.
Damon did not apologize for his comments, instead clarified what he meant by the statement. “I was just trying to say actors are more effective when they’re a mystery. Right?” he told DeGeneres. “And somebody picked it up and said I said gay actors should get back in the closet. Which is like I mean it’s stupid, but it is painful when things get said that you don’t believe.”
He continued to blame the press for the controversy around his comments; “In the blogosphere there’s no real penalty for just taking the ball and running with it. You know what I mean? You’re just trying to click on your thing. So.”
What Is Matt Damon And Ben Affleck's Relationship?
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=1.5)
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have been close friends for decades. They were just 8 and 10 when they met in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They worked together many times and, at one point, even shared a bank account!
"I'm sure," Damon said to The Guardian. "When Ben and I first came on the scene there were rumors that we were gay because it was two guys who wrote a script together." The pair were roommates when they wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for 1997's Good Will Hunting.
Matt Damon And Ben Affleck Have Nine Movies Together, But Who Gets Paid More?
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have been friends since they were single digits, and both are equally famous, but let's take a closer look at who's on top.
One of the reasons there were rumors about the pair being more than friends may have come from Gwyneth Paltrow's close circle. After Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow broke up in 2000, one of her friends allegedly started spreading rumours. “When I broke up with Gwyneth, somebody came to her – a friend of hers, a person I actually like – and said, ‘Well, I feel really bad telling you this, but I know people in the gay community who have slept with Ben.'"
Luckily, Ben Affleck saw the funny side of the untrue gossip and shrugged it off. "They said that about Brad Pitt, they said that about Leonardo DiCaprio – they said it about me and Matt! I felt like we were in good company."
Why Matt Damon Stopped Using A Homophobic Slur
In 2021, Matt Damon was embroiled in another scandal when he announced he had quit using homophobic slurs in his personal life. The Good Will Hunting star admitted he had to "retire," the term from his daily life after his daughter told him it was inappropriate. The actor told The Sunday Times that the word “was commonly used when I was a kid, with a different application.”
He said his daughter complained about him using the offensive term “months ago.” “She went to her room and wrote a very long, beautiful treatise on how that word is dangerous. I said, ‘I retire the f-slur!’ I understood,” he said in the newspaper interview. He never specifies which of his four daughters wrote the letter. This comment was met with criticism by charities and members of the LBGTQ+ community.
The actor later gave a statement to Variety, claiming he had never used the slur in his “personal life” and believed the interview “led many to assume the worst” about him. He clarified that he would use the slur casually and sometimes in movies until his daughter "was extremely articulate about the extent to which that word would have been painful to someone in the LGBTQ+ community regardless of how culturally normalized it was.”
Damon went on to add, “I have never called anyone ‘f****t’ in my personal life and this conversation with my daughter was not a personal awakening. I do not use slurs of any kind.”
