Matt Damon botches attempt to speak about Weinstein, sexual misconduct
Here's a pro-tip if you're trying to shut up and listen to women: Shut up.
Matt Damon, who has been speaking out following the avalanche of sexual assault and misconduct allegations in Hollywood, has stepped up to the mic for a third attempt at advocating for women in Hollywood, and once again falls flat.
In an interview with Peter Travers for ABC News, Damon repeatedly emphasized that the current reckoning in Hollywood right now is good and that women should be listened to, but seems to face a near-constant internal struggle to reconcile that idea with everything he knows about business and entertainment.
SEE ALSO: An incomplete list of celebrity statements on Harvey WeinsteinIn the full interview, which you can read and watch here, Damon "right"s and "okay"s his way through the minefield of sexual misconduct fallout and definitely takes a few hits.
Below, some "highlights":
"We live in this culture of outrage and injury, and, you know, that we’re going to have to correct enough to kind of go, 'Wait a minute. None of us came here perfect.' You know what I mean?"
"I don’t know Louis C.K. I’ve never met him. I’m a fan of his, but I don’t imagine he’s going to do those things again. ...I imagine the price that he’s paid at this point is so beyond anything that he — I just think that we have to kind of start delineating between what these behaviors are."
"...at what point does somebody’s behavior that you have a professional relationship with … away from the profession bother enough that you don’t want to work with them? For me, I’ve always kind of, you know, as long as nobody’s committing a crime — well, that’s your life, and you go live it. I don’t need to be spending time with you, away from my professional life, at least."
"If it’s a friend of mine, I’m always talking to them. I know the real story if it’s my friend. If it’s a colleague … I don’t know … I guess it depends on the situation and the allegation and how believable I think it is."
"Now … with social media, these stories get — it’s like they get gasoline poured on them. So the moment a claim is made, if you make that same claim today to me, I would be scorched earth. I’d go, 'I don’t care if it costs $10 million to fight this in court with you for 10 years, you are not taking my name from me. You are not taking my name and my reputation from me.'"
"We have to get to a place where we’re looking at one end of the spectrum and saying, 'Well, let’s deal with this with some reflection and dialogue and some reconciliation, and let’s all grow together and move on.'"
In previous statements, Damon was vague about his knowledge of Harvey Weinstein's alleged misconduct and defended his moral stance with the fact that he has four daughters (for the record, Louis C.K. has two).
Damon's heart seems to be in the right place, but his foot is in the wrong one, which is to say, his mouth. It might be hard to watch colleagues' careers crumble around him, but the argument being made in this cultural moment is that men like Weinstein robbed promising young women of their careers for decades -- those are the "career enders" we should be talking about, not men who are now facing some consequences for their own behavior.
For the moment, Matt Damon, maybe focus on promoting Downsizing, or on downsizing your public statements about sexual misconduct in Hollywood. We get that you're against it, but the women have the floor now. Try listening to them.
Featured Video For You
Jennifer Lawrence, Reese Witherspoon speak out about sexual harassment in Hollywood