Sometimes when I’m covering a celebrity interview, particularly with someone I like, I’ll focus so closely on a certain angle that I miss key details. That happened yesterday when I covered Matt Damon’s interview with The Guardian. I didn’t thoroughly parse his comments on actors’ sexuality and glossed over them in the context of Damon’s relationship with fame. I was covering the story from the perspective of Damon claiming that he tries to be “boring” and uninteresting to the press and it went over my head that he could be suggesting that actors should stay in the closet. I’m sorry for missing that. (Plus there were several interviews that I was trying to include at once, although that’s a weak excuse.)
To recap, at the end of their long profile with Matt Damon, The Guardian included his thoughts on gay actors. Here’s what he said in context.
Damon was a straight man playing gay. Is it harder for actors to be openly gay in Hollywood? “I’m sure. When Ben and I first came on the scene there were rumours that we were gay because it was two guys who wrote a script together.”
Really?
“I know. It’s just like any piece of gossip… and it put us in a weird position of having to answer, you know what I mean? Which 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. But at the time, I remember thinking and saying, Rupert Everett was openly gay and this guy – more handsome than anybody, a classically trained actor – it’s tough to make the argument that he didn’t take a hit for being out.”
He thinks attitudes are changing, and welcomes the introduction of same-sex marriage in California in 2008. “I think it must be really hard for actors to be out publicly,” he continues. “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 straight or gay, people shouldn’t know anything about your sexuality because that’s one of the mysteries that you should be able to play.”
So Damon officially has a #damonsplaining problem. He will dismiss complex issues that affect other communities from his position of privilege like it’s NBD. Then he’ll frame the criticism as if we didn’t understand him anyway. On The Ellen show yesterday, Damon clarified his comments by simply stating that he was misquoted and that outlets ran with the headline that he said actors should stay in the closet:
“I was just trying to say actors are more effective when they’re a mystery, right?” [Damon] told DeGeneres. “And somebody picked it up and said I said gay actors should get back in the closet. Which is like, I mean it’s stupid, but it is painful when things get said that you don’t believe. You know what I mean? And then it gets represented that that’s what you believe.”
Damon also recalled how earlier in his career, he and his Good Will Hunting co-writer and co-star Ben Affleck dealt with rumors they were gay. He added that in today’s media landscape, “There’s no real penalty for just taking the ball and running with it. You know what I mean? You’re just trying to click on your thing.”
Given his problematic statement on minorities in film, it’s telling that Damon is taking the same stance here, that his comments were misconstrued. Damon may know what he believes on an intellectual level, but he’s made two statements now which seem to contradict that. I would have liked to see more self awareness in his responses to the fallout instead of him simply claiming that we didn’t understand. I could go either way on this but I’d like to hear him take more responsibility for the things he says.
The Daily Beast has an editorial which skewers Damon for his comments to The Guardian. They point out Damon’s hypocrisy. “Damon is preaching about actors’ sexuality being none of the public’s business in the same interview in which he casually talks about his wife, kids, and fatherhood on several occasions. And I would like for someone to convincingly make the case that a straight actor who follows his advice—not talking about being straight—will see his or her career affected in any way by such secrecy about their heterosexuality.” I’m just waiting for Damon to dismiss feminism.
photo credit: WENN.com
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