Matt Damon has a cameo in Ocean’s 8, but there is a petition doing rounds of the Internet which wants him out of the film. The petition started by activists on social networking site, Care2, has garnered over 17,000 signatures in a matter of hours, and is gaining momentum with every passing minute. Damon is facing ire over his ill-thought and insensitive comments on sexual harassment scandal that shook Hollywood to its roots.
The activists directed the petition towards Ocean’s 8 producers George Clooney and Steven Soderbergh. The note tells the producers that keeping Damon in the movie would imply their lack of accountability for sexual harassment, a plague that exists in Hollywood. It also called his inclusion in the film gross. It read:
Damon’s inclusion (in the movie) would trivialise the serious nature of the charges against sexual abusers like Weinstein — a show of massive disrespect for the brave women speaking out.
A still from Ocean’s 8 trailer
In one of his recent interviews, Damon said:
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? Both of those behaviours need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated, right?
This statement of the 47-year-old actor made many angry, and it was definitely the one thing no one wanted to hear in this atmosphere where women are speaking up against sexual harassment. Post his statement, Damon was schooled by Alyssa Milano, who started #MeToo earlier this year, in a series of tweets, explaining why he was a part of the problem. She had tweeted:
Dear Matt Damon,
It’s the micro that makes the macro.
(Thread)
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 201
We are in a “culture of outrage” because the magnitude of rage is, in fact, overtly outrageous. And it is righteous.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
I have been a victim of each component of the sexual assault spectrum of which you speak. They all hurt. And they are all connected to a patriarchy intertwined with normalized, accepted–even welcomed– misogyny.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
We are not outraged because someone grabbed our asses in a picture. We are outraged because we were made to feel this was normal. We are outraged because we have been gaslighted. We are outraged because we were silenced for so long.
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
Sexual harassment, misconduct, assault and violence is a systemic disease. The tumor is being cut out right now with no anesthesia. Please send flowers. #MeToo
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) December 16, 2017
When Matt Damon was asked if he would work with people accused of sexual misconduct, he had said he’d work with them on a ‘case-by-case’ basis. There are also reports that Damon allegedly helped in killing a story meant for blowing the lid off Harvey Weinstein’s sexual misconduct, back in 2004. Though Damon has denied these charges, he and Ben Affleck came under scrutiny when the allegations surfaced. Both the stars shot to stardom with the 1997 release Good Will Hunting, a film produced by Weinstein’s Miramax. Later, Damon said he knew Weinstein harassed Gwyneth Paltrow decades ago and still worked with him.
Matt Damon and Ben Affleck
Also read: ‘I am truly sorry she sees me as an adversary,’ Meryl Streep responds to Rose McGowan’s allegations
In the Ocean‘s franchise, Damon played Linus Caldwell, but activists no longer want to see him in the latest installment which has an all-female ensemble. Spearheaded by Sandra Bullock, Ocean’s 8 is the story of a heist at the Met Gala. The film is scheduled for release in June 2018.
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