Matt Damon: Al Franken and Harvey Weinstein 'don't belong in the same category'
In an extensive sit down interview, Matt Damon championed the current “watershed moment” of sexual misconduct victims coming forward, while also sharing his belief that not all of the actions should be viewed the same way.
“I think it’s wonderful that women are feeling empowered to tell their stories, and it’s totally necessary,” he shared on an upcoming edition of ABC’s Popcorn with Peter Travers. “I do believe there’s a spectrum of behavior… There’s a difference between patting someone on the butt and rape or child molestation, right? Both of those behaviors need to be confronted and eradicated without question, but they shouldn’t be conflated.”
For his example, Damon cited Senator Al Franken, who recently announced he’ll be resigning in the coming weeks following allegations that began with a 2006 photo of the politician groping broadcaster Leeann Tweeden, and the actor’s Good Will Hunting producer Harvey Weinstein, who has been accused of sexual assault and rape by multiple women.
“When you see Al Franken taking a picture putting his hands on that woman’s flak jacket and mugging for the camera… that is just like a terrible joke, and it’s not funny. It’s wrong, and he shouldn’t have done that,” opined the Oscar winner. “But when you talk about Harvey and what he’s accused of, there are no pictures of that. He knew he was up to no good. There’s no witnesses. There’s no pictures. There’s no braggadocio. That stuff happened secretly, because it was criminal and he knew it. So they don’t belong in the same category.”
As in previous interviews, Damon claimed no knowledge of the depths of Weinstein’s alleged mistreatment of women, saying, “I knew I wouldn’t want him married to anyone close to me. But that was the extent of what we knew.”
The Downsizing star also discussed other high-profile celebrities accused of sexual misconduct, including Kevin Spacey and Louis C.K., who publicly admitted to his alleged behavior. Upon seeing the comedian’s response, Damon recalled thinking, “Well, we can work with that.”
“And the fear for me is that right now, we’re in this moment — and I hope it doesn’t stay this way — the clear signal to men and to younger people is, deny it,” shared Damon. “Because if you take responsibility for what you did, your life’s going to get ruined. But if you deny it, you can be in the White House, you can be the president.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/celebrity/matt-damon-al-franken-and-harvey-weinstein-dont-belong-in-the-same-category/ar-BBGKZlQ?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp
= new reply since forum marked as read
