By Sammie Jones
Matt Damon has been branded “tone deaf” for his recent comments about sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.
The actor and writer is facing a serious backlash on social media after saying that people should be paying more attention to men who are not sexual predators. Several critical tweets were circula
The uproar started after Damon gave an interview for Business Insider on Monday, and said men not involved in sexual misconduct in Hollywood are not gaining attention.
“We’re in this watershed moment, and it’s great, but I think one thing that’s not being talked about is… the preponderance of men I’ve worked with who don’t do this kind of thing,” he said during an interview while promoting his new film Downsizing.
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Damon has been trending on Twitter on Tuesday because of the remarks, and the fact he has made other controversial remarks like that recently.
Many social media users condemned the actor for suggesting for suggesting being a sexual predator was an accomplishment. Most decent citizens of any part of the world expect men to conduct themselves appropriately, without expecting any credit for doing so. That said, there is a strong possibility that Damon’s point may have been misunderstood.
The American actor might be stressing an issue that only sexual predators seem to be given more attention by the media. In that sense, Damon is overlooking the obvious fact that the media attention predators or alleged predators get is negative attention.
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NOTORIETY
In the world of Hollywood stars where media coverage is considered a big deal, even notoriety might be welcomed by those actors who feel confident of eventually debunking a false claim made about them. Debunking a false claim of sexual harassment does not completely eliminate the tarnished effect of such a claim on a star’s image, but some actors will see the publicity as something they can shout home about.
Damon is no stranger to controversy surrounding sexual or rape allegations. He commented on sexual abuse following rape allegations against Hollywood film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Last week in an interview with ABC News. Damon said groping and rape were two different things and shouldn’t be treated the same.
“There’s a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?” Damon told ABC’S ‘Popcorn’ with Peter Travers
“Both of those behaviours need to be confronted and eradicated, without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated, right?”
When an actor reasons in this way, it gives the impression he is condoning the act of groping by trying to emphasise its lesser offence. That in itself is utterly ridiculous and makes him look bad and without empathy for the women who have to endure these unacceptable and unforgivable traits of perverted men.
Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of rape, called Damon “dense” for his most recent comments.
Other actresses, including from his Good Will Hunting co-star Minnie Driver , have criticised the actor. McGowan said Damon was among those to be “utterly tone deaf” on the topic – and Debra Messing and Alyssa Milano, in a frank thread on Twitter
Last week in an interview with ABC News Damon said groping and rape were two different things and shouldn’t be treated the same.
“There’s a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?” Damon told ABC’S ‘Popcorn’ with Peter Travers
“Both of those behaviours need to be confronted and eradicated, without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated, right?”
Rose McGowan, who has accused Weinstein of rape, called Damon “dense” for his most recent comments.
Both sets of remarks drew criticism from other actresses, including from his Good Will Hunting co-star Minnie Driver – who said Damon was among those to be “utterly tone deaf” on the topic – and Debra Messing and Alyssa Milano, in a frank thread on Twitter.
Milano’s tweet in October urging people to share their stories of sexual harassment on social media initiated the global #MeToo movement.
Millions of women and men used the hashtag to highlight the sexual abuse they had faced.
- How ‘MeToo’ is exposing the scale of sexual abuse
- Harvey Weinstein scandal: Who has accused him of what?
- Ben Affleck apologises for ‘groping’ MTV host Hilarie Burton
Despite much of the reaction condemning Damon’s comments there has been some defence of his remarks.
Damon has come under the spotlight before regarding allegations against Weinstein.
He previously denied trying to stop a story about the producer’s behaviour when it was investigated by a reporter in 2004.
Sharon Waxman has said she looked into rumours an employee of Weinstein’s in Italy was procuring women for him. She said Damon and Russell Crowe called her to vouch for the employee.
Image copyright REX/Shutterstock Image caption Damon worked with Weinstein on films including Good Will Hunting
But Damon has said he did not know the detail of the allegations. “I would never, ever, ever try to kill a story like that,” he told Deadline.
Waxman, who then worked for the New York Times, was ultimately unable to publish any allegations relating to Weinstein’s sexual behaviour.
In October, Damon gave an interview with his Ocean’s 11 co-star George Clooney in which both actors called Weinstein, who produced some of their most successful early movies, a bully.
Damon also said:
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“this level of sexual predation is not something that I ever thought was going on”.