Online anti Matt Damon petition reaches 20,000 signatures

Online anti Matt Damon petition reaches 20,000 signatures



Matt Damon's controversial comments about sexual abuse in Hollywood may be about to harm his career.



By Friday, over 20,000 people had signed a petition calling on the 47-year-old actor's cameo in the upcoming all female Ocean's 11 reboot, titled Ocean's 8, to be scrapped.



The outrage, according to the petition's author, is due in part to 'an interview where [Damon] said he'd still work people who had been accused of sexual misconduct, on a "case-by-case" basis.'



The 2018 heist movie stars a slew of A-list actresses including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter and Rihanna.



The petition was directed towards Ocean's 8 producers George Clooney - who is good friends with Damon - and Steven Soderbergh.





Comments on the petition range from supportive of the Suburbicon star, to scathing of his recent words.



'As a woman I support Matt DAmon whole heartedly [sic],' wrote one fan.



While another stated bluntly: 'Matt Damon clearly does not understand the severity of the problems faced by women. He should have no part in a female-empowering film. Or any film.' 





In an interview with Business Insider, the Jason Bourne star was asked if he would work with people accused of sexual assault.



Damon answered that he would consider it on a 'case-by-case' basis.



'That always went into my thinking. 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?"'



It got even worse when he said that the 'rotten apples' are only about 1 percent of the industry and there are plenty of good men.



'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**tload 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.'



He also said to ABC: '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?'



He added, 'Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated, right?'





His ex-girlfriend Minnie Driver, who worked with him on 1997's Good Will Hunting, has publicly reacted to his comments.



'Good God, seriously?' Driver tweeted in response to his claim.



The mother-of-one said: 'You don't get to be hierarchical with abuse. And you don't get to tell women that because some guy only showed them their penis their pain isn't as great as a woman who was raped.'



She also told The Guardian that men 'simply cannot understand what abuse is like on a daily level' and should not therefore attempt to differentiate or explain sexual misconduct against women.





He has also been criticized for working with Harvey Weinstein after the former Miramax mogul harassed Gwyneth Paltrow.



Damon has yet to apologize for his comments but was absent from the recent premiere of his film Downsizing which to some was a sign that he may be staying out of the spotlight for a while.



When speaking of Damon's absence, a representative for Paramount Pictures told the Hollywood Reporter he was out of town tending to a 'family matter' related to his ill father.





Matt Damon's controversial comments about sexual abuse in Hollywood may be about to harm his career.



By Friday, over 20,000 people had signed a petition calling on the 47-year-old actor's cameo in the upcoming all female Ocean's 11 reboot, titled Ocean's 8, to be scrapped.



The outrage, according to the petition's author, is due in part to 'an interview where [Damon] said he'd still work people who had been accused of sexual misconduct, on a "case-by-case" basis.'



The 2018 heist movie stars a slew of A-list actresses including Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Anne Hathaway, Sarah Paulson, Mindy Kaling, Helena Bonham Carter and Rihanna.



The petition was directed towards Ocean's 8 producers George Clooney - who is good friends with Damon - and Steven Soderbergh.



In the petition Matt was called 'gross' for his comments on sexual abuse that many saw as not appropriate.



Comments on the petition range from supportive of the Suburbicon star, to scathing of his recent words.



'As a woman I support Matt DAmon whole heartedly [sic],' wrote one fan.



While another stated bluntly: 'Matt Damon clearly does not understand the severity of the problems faced by women. He should have no part in a female-empowering film. Or any film.'