Matt Damon has come under fire again after weighing in on the ongoing sexual harassment allegations being made against key figures in Hollywood.
The ‘Downsizing’ actor, who has hit headlines previously for his comments on the Harvey Weinstein scandal, this time shared his view that when it comes to sexual misconduct, he feels there is a “spectrum” on which certain behaviour falls.
Speaking to ABC’s Peter Travers, Matt said of the current climate: “I think it’s wonderful that women are feeling empowered to tell their stories, and it’s totally necessary.”
And then... he continued talking.
“I do believe that there’s a spectrum of behavior, right?” he added, “And we’re going to have to figure... you know, there’s a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?
Matt then talked a little more, this time providing specific examples from the past few months and explaining where on his “spectrum” he thinks these incidents fell.
On what he called “the Louis C.K. thing”, he admitted to not knowing “all the details”, but surmised that from reading the comedian’s statement, Matt “[doesn’t] imagine [Louis C.K.] is going to do those things again”.
Of Al Franken, he continued: “When you see Al Franken taking a picture putting his hands on that woman’s flak jacket and mugging for the camera… that is just like a terrible joke, and it’s not funny. It’s wrong, and he shouldn’t have done that.
Matt went on to say that were a friend of his to be accused he would “know the real story” from them, putting the cherry on a cake which a lot of people on social media seem reluctant to cut themselves a slice of:
HuffPost UK has reached out to Matt Damon’s representative for further comment.
Matt previously backtracked on claims he had known nothing about the accusations against Harvey Weinstein prior to actresses coming forward with their stories earlier this year.
He also spoke out to address rumours he’d been responsible for “shutting down” a story that would have blown the lid off the movie mogul’s misconduct.
Weinstein has faced a string of sexual assault and sexual harassment accusations, but has “unequivocally denied” any allegations of non-consensual relationships.