Matt Damon says we aren’t talking about the men who don’t sexually harass people in Hollywood
Damon is under fire for his comments on sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry. Again.
As Matt Damon continues his press tour for his new movie Downsizing, he is once again commenting on sexual misconduct in Hollywood.
In an interview with Business Insider, Damon suggested that one topic that hasn’t been discussed during the current national conversation around sexual harassment is the men “who don’t do this sort of thing.”
“We’re in this watershed moment, and it’s great, but I think one thing that’s not being talked about is there are a whole s***load of guys — the preponderance of men I’ve worked with — who don’t do this kind of thing and whose lives aren’t going to be affected,” Damon told Business Insider.
“If I have to sign a sexual-harassment thing, I don’t care, I’ll sign it,” Damon said. “I would have signed it before. I don’t do that, and most of the people I know don’t do that.”
Damon’s comments to Business Insider set off a negative reaction online, as people mocked Damon for using the “not all men” argument, which Vox defines as “a common rebuttal used (most often) by men in conversations about gender in order to exempt themselves from criticism of common male behaviors.” Among feminist writers, it has become a humorous meme used to mock people, usually men, who make bad-faith arguments or attempt to derail genuine discussion of gender issues.
https://twitter.com/ParkerMolloy/status/943100308544245760
— Katharine Abortion Is Healthcare Heller (@spkheller) December 19, 2017
— Katharine Abortion Is Healthcare Heller (@spkheller) December 19, 2017
(Matt Damon bursts into trial for serial killer)
“Why are we wasting time on this when we should be talking about all the men who AREN’T serial killers!”— Jess Dweck (@TheDweck) December 19, 2017
I’m going to see Star Wars now.
Matt Damon, leaning down from row behind me: You should see movies about Stars Peace— Jessica Ellis (@baddestmamajama) December 18, 2017
https://twitter.com/Shakestweetz/status/942959401433993216
Damon was also taken to task by various Hollywood figures, including actresses Rose McGowan and Debra Messing.
https://twitter.com/rosemcgowan/status/942898889807380482
https://twitter.com/DebraMessing/status/942900876401893376
Matt Damon figuring it out on a “case by case basis.” pic.twitter.com/SbaBpeAizP
— Continuity Ted Leo Account (@tedleo) December 19, 2017
Seriously, dude? https://t.co/CG5R9HWxQW
— Paul Feig (@paulfeig) December 19, 2017
When it comes to Matt Damon, I am constantly hunting for goodwill
— Aparna Nancherla 🇵🇸 (@aparnapkin) December 19, 2017
Damon previously came under fire for comments in an ABC News interview, in which he said, among other things, that he didn’t believe Louis C.K. is “going to do those things again,” that he would have preferred that former Sen. Al Franken face an Ethics Committee investigation instead of resigning from the Senate, and that allegations of sexual misconduct need to be analyzed “on a spectrum of behavior.”
Actress Minnie Driver, Damon’s Good Will Hunting costar and former girlfriend, told The Guardian that Damon should not have spoken out the way he did.
“In the same stereotypical way that we see women being supportive of men in their endeavors,” Driver told the publication, “I feel that’s what women need of men in this moment. They need men to lean on and not question. Men can rally and they can support, but I don’t think its appropriate, per se, for men to have an opinion about how women should be metabolising abuse. Ever.”
