Matt Damon has delivered his lopsided take on the wave of sexual harassment allegations that has crashed through Hollywood, saying that we should dilineate between the accusations levelled against people like Harvey Weinstein and Kevin Spacey, and those made against people like former U.S. Senator Al Franken.
Speaking to Peter Travers, the Downsizing lead said “all of that behaviour needs to be confronted, but there is a continuum,” warning against an environment where indiscretions he deemed less significant are punished to the same extent.
“We’re so energised to get retribution, I think, and we live in this culture of outrage, of injury,” he said.
“We’re gonna have to correct enough to kind of go, you know, “none of us came here perfect.” You know what I mean? What’s the point of us being here, if not to improve.”
He did not address the fact that such behaviours have been proven to force women out of the industry, thereby reinforcing a boy’s club mentality which the #MeToo movement has now begun to puncture.
Damon also expressed a level of grace towards Louis C.K., saying that his apology for repeatedly exposing himself in front of female colleagues – an apology which was roundly criticised itself – was “kind of arresting” to him.
Discussing C.K.’s admission of wrongdoing (which only came after years of his misconduct being an open secret in the comedy industry, subsequent denials from C.K., and a bombshell New York Times exposé on the matter), Damon said “I just remember thinking, “Well, that’s the sign of somebody who — well, we can work with that.””
His take on Weinstein was far less forgiving, adding that despite his close professional relationship with the producer (Damon starred in Good Will Hunting, Rounders, Chasing Amy, and others for Weinstein’s company Miramax) he did not have any knowledge of his alleged misconduct.
Damon compared the allegations against Weinstein to the scandal which forced Franken to step down from his position. Photos of the politician groping a female colleague as she slept resurfaced last month; Damon said there should have been an Ethics Committee investigation (there was), instead of a trial by social media (Franken also called for the Ethics Committee investigation into his own behaviour after the photo re-emerged).
The actor did say “every woman coming forward with one of these stories needs to be listened to and heard,” but his comments speak to a mindset that misses many of the more insidious ramifications of sexual harassment.
Oh, there’s scant little about his mates Ben and Casey Affleck, too.
You can catch the whole chat HERE.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual harassment or assault, you can call 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for access to 24/7 support.
