Matt Damon says we aren't talking enough about all the men in Hollywood who aren't sexual predators

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Matt Damon says we aren't talking enough about all the men in Hollywood who aren't sexual predators

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Matt Damon Kevin Winter Getty final

Kevin Winter/Getty

Matt Damon.

  • Matt Damon said the men not involved in sexual misconduct in Hollywood aren't being talked about enough.
  • He said most people he knows "don't do that."
  • Damon said if he found that he was on a project with someone who had allegations against them he would handle it on a "case-by-case" basis.


Matt Damon thinks the men in Hollywood who aren't sexual predators should be talked about more.

In the flood of sexual misconduct allegations that has hit Hollywood since Harvey Weinstein, some of the biggest names in entertainment, media, and politics have been taken down by their alleged acts. But Damon says not all the men in Hollywood are despicable.

"We're in this watershed moment and it's great but I think one thing that's not being talked about is there are a whole s---load of guys - the preponderance of men I've worked with - who don't do this kind of thing and whose lives aren't going to be affected," Damon told Business Insider while promoting his new movie, "Downsizing" (opening in theaters Friday). "If I have to sign a sexual harassment thing, I don't care, I'll sign it. I would have signed it before. I don't do that and most of the people I know don't do that."

Damon has recently been under fire for comments he made regarding sexual misconduct in Hollywood. Late last week in an interview for ABC News' "Popcorn with Peter Travers," Damon told the Rolling Stone critic that there's a "spectrum of behavior" to consider.

"There's a difference between, you know, patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right?" Damon said. "Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn't be conflated, right?"

Damon then went on to make his point using Minnesota Senator Al Franken, who recently stepped down due to numerous harassment allegations. Damon said that Franken's alleged acts weren't in the "same category" as Harvey Weinstein. 

Damon's comments drew criticism, including from his "Good Will Hunting" costar and ex-girlfriend Minnie Driver, and Alyssa Milano, who helped make the #MeToo social media movement popular.

Business Insider also asked Damon if the current climate in Hollywood had made him more conscious of the people he works with on future projects. Would he back out of a movie if an actor, director, or producer had sexual misconduct allegations against them?

"That always went into my thinking," Damon said. "I mean, I wouldn't want to work with somebody who - life's too short for that. But the question of if somebody had allegations against them, you know, it would be a case-by-case basis. You go, 'What's the story here?'"