Matt Damon Walks Back on His Comments; ‘I Have Never Called Anyone F—–‘
Matt Damon made headlines this week after telling a story about how one of his daughters had to convince him not to use the f-slur. But now, the Interstellar alum seems to be walking back on his story and some fans are pretty confused about what to believe. But what exactly did Damon say in his initial interview and how has his story changed since then?
Recently, Damon spoke with the U.K’s Sunday Times in order to promote his upcoming movie, Stillwater. In the interview, he also offered some personal anecdotes about being a father to three daughters. However, one anecdote earned the actor some serious backlash. His story seemed to imply that he used the f-slur up until very recently and that his daughter had to convince him to stop using it by way of a letter.
Matt Damon revealed that one of his daughters convinced him to ‘retire the f-slur’
“I made a joke, months ago, and got a treatise from my daughter,” Damon shared with the publication. “She left the table. I said, ‘Come on, that’s a joke! I say it in the movie Stuck on You!’ 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.”
Naturally, many people were disappointed that Damon was still using the f-slur, especially in this day and age, and expressed disappointment that one of his daughters had to do something so formal to convince him to stop using the word. It didn’t take long before the backlash reached Damon and he quickly released a statement to Variety, claiming that he never used the f-slur, or any slur, in his personal life.
The ‘Stillwater’ star claims his interview was misinterpreted
“During a recent interview, I recalled a discussion I had with my daughter where I attempted to contextualize for her the progress that has been made – though by no means completed – since I was growing up in Boston and, as a child, heard the word ‘f–’ used on the street before I knew what it even referred to,” Damon shared. “I explained that that word was used constantly and casually and was even a line of dialogue in a movie of mine as recently as 2003; she, in turn, expressed incredulity that there could ever have been a time where that word was used unthinkingly. To my admiration and pride, she was extremely articulate about the extent to which that word would have been painful to someone in the LGBTQ+ community regardless of how culturally normalized it was. I not only agreed with her but thrilled at her passion, values, and desire for social justice.”
Damon says that he doesn’t use slurs in his personal life
“I have never called anyone ‘f—–’ in my personal life and this conversation with my daughter was not a personal awakening. I do not use slurs of any kind,” Damon’s statement continued. “I have learned that eradicating prejudice requires active movement toward justice rather than finding passive comfort in imagining myself ‘one of the good guys’. And given that open hostility against the LGBTQ+ community is still not uncommon, I understand why my statement led many to assume the worst. To be as clear as I can be, I stand with the LGBTQ+ community.”
While many people are poking holes in Damon’s statement, we can only hope that Damon truly doesn’t use slurs and he doesn’t need his daughters to convince him not to do so.
