Why Matt Damon's Comments About Ben Affleck Relationship Upset The LGBTQ+ Community

Posted by Elina Uphoff on Wednesday, May 29, 2024

Highlights

  • Matt Damon confronted backlash from the LBGTQ+ community after comments about his friendship with Ben Affleck, expressing fear about speculation and offensive implications.
  • Damon used to be interested in a public conflict on Project Greenlight, interrupting journalist Effie Brown and inflicting the hashtag #damonsplaining to development on Twitter.
  • Matt Damon defended himself on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, blaming internet newshounds and clarifying that he believes actors are simpler when they handle a sense of puzzle.

Matt Damon got himself in trouble with the LBGTQ+ community when he made comments about his friendship with Ben Affleck. The Martian actor used to be discussing the nature of his relationship with Ben Affleck and admitted the rumors they have been romantically connected "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 speaking about variety, you do it in the casting of the movie, no longer 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.”

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Did Matt Damon Encourage Actors To Be In The Closet?

The Bourne Identity famous person was once pressured to address statements in 2015 after he used to be accused of downplaying the importance of diversity in Hollywood and inspiring 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 educated actor – it’s tricky to make the argument that he didn’t take a success 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 immediately or homosexual, folks shouldn't know anything about your sexuality because that's one among the mysteries that you should be capable of play.

Matt Damon Defends Comments About Gay Actors After Backlash

Matt Damon later appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show following criticism he informed homosexual actors to stay 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 web journalists for running with the story.

Damon did not make an apology for his comments, instead clarified what he meant by means of the commentary. “I used to be simply seeking to say actors are more practical once they’re a mystery. Right?” he instructed DeGeneres. “And anyone picked it up and said I stated homosexual actors will have to get again in the closet. Which is like I mean it’s silly, but it is painful when things get stated that you just don’t believe.”

He continued responsible the press for the controversy round his comments; “In the blogosphere there’s no actual penalty for simply taking the ball and running with it. You know what I mean? You’re just trying to click on in your thing. So.”

What Is Matt Damon And Ben Affleck's Relationship?

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were close pals for decades. They have been just 8 and 10 once they met in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They labored together time and again and, at one level, even shared a bank account!

"I'm sure," Damon stated 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 have been roommates once they wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for 1997's Good Will Hunting.

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One of the reasons there were rumors about the pair being more than friends could have come from Gwyneth Paltrow's shut 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, someone came to her – a chum of hers, an individual I if truth be told like – and mentioned, ‘Well, I think in reality dangerous telling you this, but I do know other people in the homosexual community who've slept with Ben.'"

Luckily, Ben Affleck saw the funny side of the untrue gossip and shrugged it off. "They mentioned that about Brad Pitt, they said that about Leonardo DiCaprio – they said it about me and Matt! I felt like we were in just right 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 needed 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 once extraordinarily articulate about the extent to which that phrase would had been painful to someone in the LGBTQ+ community regardless of how culturally normalized it used to be.”

Damon went on to add, “I have by no means known as someone ‘f****t’ in my non-public life and this dialog with my daughter used to be now not a personal awakening. I don't use slurs of any type.”

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